Return to Meyer
by Bookworm-xxx
Summary: Sequel to Living in Meyer. Ashley's back in Fictional Forks as Alice always predicted she would. With James out of the way and Victoria hell bent on revenge, what will Ashley do without her knowledge of the story's plot this time around?
1. Reality

**Disclaimer: Thanks Stephenie Meyer for all the elements that form this story. Also big thanks to whoever created Lost in Austen. You've allowed me to get not one but two stories out of your idea. Much appreciated!**

**A/N: Hi everyone, I'm back with the first chapter of the new Living in Meyer story, "Return to Meyer". I've had a bit of a break and now with the school holidays in full swing I've had a chance to write some of the new story. Hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think. As always, I apologize for bad gramma, I'm too lazy to edit. Plus, try not to be too hard. I know this first chap is a bit slow. Grin and bare it for me. **

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Once upon a time there was a girl who always dreamed of getting away from her life to enter a fairytale land. One day her dream came true and she met her prince.

In a perfect world, this is where the story would have ended. The prince and the ordinary girl would have gone away together and lived happily ever after. But in my world, things are never so perfect. Instead, the prince was vampire; the girl was almost killed by a murdering psychopath, and as for the happily ever after, the girl and the vampire went about their lives, living them a world away from each other, denying the fact that neither of them believed they would ever be happy in love again.

Sounds dramatic right? Well, it would be so much more boring to just say, girl was stupid and denied boy even though he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. More so, I'd remind myself of the biggest mistake I've ever made in my entire life.

As things are, I get by, whether I like it or not.

** **** **

"Ashley," my father said, breaking through my blank daze and averting my gaze from the bare spot of dining table in front of me. This is how it had been over the last two months, the months since I'd left Forks for the last time. Normally, I attempted to block out most aspects of real life by absorbing myself in novels. Other people's problems, other people's triumphs. Although, there was still five books in my bookcase I simply refused to touch.

"Hmm?" I said, looking up. My mum and dad were sitting down at the table with me, holding my most recent set of exam results. Looking at them, I could tell that neither was extremely impressed.

"Have you seen these?" They held the papers out to me, many of the covers with scribbled fail percentage marks on the front cover. Oh dear. Seeing them all together, I began to realise just how badly I was doing in school at the moment. It was probably due to my resistance to doing any home-work or study these days. I'd never been like this before, not before…._it_ had happened.

That was how I chose to refer to that day. The day in which I had been kicked, punched and thrown into the shape of a bloody pretzel on the floor of the Lugarno school hall. Several small scars still remained as reminders on various parts of my body but every shower brought back new memories as I scrubbed my skin clean. I'd always thought that it was scars that faded and memories that stayed. Why did I have to be the one to keep both?

"Well, yeah. I was the one who gave them to you." I said sarcastically.

My dad shook his head, disappointment and worry etched into every inch of his face. It was horrible to think that I was the reason for it. "Then, maybe you can explain to us why things have gotten this bad. We know things have been tough for you but you've always been quite a good student. What's going on?"

I looked at my hands, twisting them about in my lap as I chose my words carefully. How could I explain it? I'd always cared very much about school and tried my best in exams. Recently, things had changed and all of sudden, I found myself not so worried anymore. If anyone had given me a quiz on books from the Angus & Robertson top 100, I would have aced it, ancient history on the other hand, not so much.

I wasn't lifeless or comatose, nor was I depressed. Honestly, I didn't know what was wrong with me. These days I spent as much time as I could alone, whether it be running/ walking in the streets around my neighbourhood, reading a novel, playing the piano or even sketching. Either way, having to speak to people was…frustrating. There was no other word for it.

I hadn't been back to Tae-kwon-do in a while, seeing that place again would be just…too hard.

In some ways, I felt wrong but had no way to fix it. There was a piece of me missing and deep down, I knew where it was. But, to go and get it would be wrong. It would simply make things worse. For the both of us.

"Okay, yes. I know the exam marks are bad. I've been a bit distracted lately but I'll work harder next time, I promise." If there was one thing I hated, that was disappointing my parents.

"Ash, we believe you mean well but we think that maybe you should have a talk with someone about what happened. You say you're fine but clearly it's interfering with your school work. And what about you friends? You don't even seem to go out with them anymore." My mum explained.

I shook my head, "I'm fine. I just don't feel like going out. You know I've never been much of an out an about person." I protested, excuses flowing through my lips.

"We know that but you were never like this. You spend all your time by yourself and you won't talk to either of us about it. What can we do?"

Dad gave me sympathetic look, "We just want you to be happy. Just give it a go, it might not help or you never know it may. Go and talk to your school councillor."

I hated the idea of having to see a councillor. There was nothing wrong with me and I didn't relish the idea of having to talk to some unknown person about intimate thoughts and feelings. Still, if this would help ease my parents' minds, then I'd give it a go.

I sighed, "Okay."

Trudging upstairs I found myself alone in my room. I shut the door behind me and walked towards my bed. I lay spread eagled across the sheets, my head amongst the material before jumping up.

"Oh god," I said, realising my mistake. On entry to the room, I had given in to an old habit. Up until I had first travelled to Forks, I had always shut my door when I wanted to do something in my room. Nowadays I tried to avoid opening shut doors altogether. They seemed to have a tendency to open up to where I really wanted to be, fictional Washington.

Now I was trapped in my room with the door shut and no other way out of the room. For the briefest of moments I considered climbing out the window but there was really no way to do that. Even if I could somehow get through the gauze that covered it behind the glass layer, how would I get down? Although, seeing our neighbour's face as he caught sight of me scaling the veranda as he chopped his firewood would be pretty funny.

Damn, I would just have to open the door and hope to god it opened up to reveal my hallway. Padding across the carpet, I stood in front of the door and reached out for the handle. It felt cold against my skin but also gave the impression of a ticking bomb, something about to go off and destroy me at any given moment.

A deep breath filled my lungs as I turned the knob and pulled. My eyes widened in panic as a familiar hallway filled the door frame. The only problem was that this wasn't part of my own house. This was somebody else's. Bella Swan's to be specific.

Wait, was it even Bella's house anymore? The last time I had spoken with her, two months ago before she'd left, she had been planning to leave Forks as soon as her mum could find a house in Florida. So many questions but no way to get the answers without breaking the rules I had set down for myself when I'd came home for the last time.

Don't go back to Forks

Avoid reading any form of Twilight related literature

Do not think about any of the events from two months ago

Most important of all, do not think about…_him_.

So far I was doing okay on these fronts but sometimes, on rare occasions when my mind ran away with itself, I dreamed about him. He was there, he was so real and I could almost touch him. But then I woke up and realised that if this continued, I'd never move on. I'd never be able to…forget.

I slammed the door, trying not to calm myself. It was times like this that I spent trying to forget, to convince myself that I wasn't crazy. It had happened. It _had_ happened.

Taking a deep breath, I reached out again for the door but was faced with sudden relief as it opened from the other side, my sister standing in our hallway, her face looking at me oddly.

"Ash, you okay?"

** *** **

The next morning I got up and got ready for school as was my usual routine. I dressed, ate breakfast and was driven to school. The whole go-and-talk-to-the-school-councillor-to-make-you-feel-better thing was not exactly high on my 'I can't wait!' moments. As I crossed the floor one word echoed in my mind. Run. But I couldn't. I said I'd do this and I was going to stick to my promise.

Taking a deep breath, my eyes darted towards the girl's bathroom on my left. Unable to pass up the chance to sort myself out before my deep and meaningful chat, I headed straight for it, barely missing out on whacking myself in the face with the swinging door.

From what I could tell, the bathroom was empty but at that moment I was more focused on other things. Dumping my bag beside me on the ground, I leant over the basin and looked at myself in the mirror. The freaked out, panda eyed look was not working for me. I made a mental note to get some proper sleep that night before attempting to smooth down my hair a little. It was first period and already I was looking…frazzled.

For a moment I froze, a self loathing look crossing my face for the briefest of seconds. It was like Bella's empty, zombie New Moon phase all over again. That was definitely something I wanted to avoid. Sure, I hadn't exactly been focusing on school lately but that could improve.

As much as I missed…._him_, I wasn't about to admit I was filled with an enormous black hole _just_ yet. That would be taking the self destruction to a whole new level.

Denial land. It's a lovely place. If you can completely push the issue from your mind then it's likely you won't ever feel the reality of your situation until you book a ticket out of there.

A streak of red flashed over my shoulder but I paid not attention to it.

I took another deep breath and leant back, flatting my heels inside my shoes as the muscles in my face began to twist themselves into a smile. Smiles are good, happy people wear smiles, I told myself.

It was then that I finally took a proper look in the mirror into the bathroom behind me. I spun around on my heel to find myself face to face with someone familiar. Not from my dreams, but my nightmares.

Victoria grinned, venom sinking into every inch of her face as she walked towards me. Before I could react, my world had gone black.

Opening my eyes, I could see a series of blurred images. A moan sounded through the room while I sat up groggily.

My fingers reached up for my head, touching the tender lump now quickly forming towards the top of my forehead. "Oh for the love of god," I muttered. Looking down, I noticed that despite my finger's freedom, my hands were tied together at the wrist as were my ankles. Damn, this is uncomfortable in my school uniform, I complained mentally.

"Nice to see that you're up," Victoria purred, her cat like eyes were wide and staring directly at me with a hate so strong I thought it would burn me through. _Great_, another enemy, just what I need.

"Yeah, well, I was thinking only moments before you whacked the hell out of me that I was in need of some more sleep but if you don't mind, I think I'll stick to my regular sleeping patterns." Touching the bump again I winced, "and minus the giant bruise."

Victoria smiled, pleased to hear that she'd caused me some sort of pain.

"Okay, before I forget, how in the world did you get here?" I asked.

She gave me a look, "But here, I'll assume you mean your world."

I rolled my eyes, "_No_, this classroom. Of course, I mean my world." I snapped. Pissing off someone like Victoria probably wasn't a smart thing to do but considering that she'd just knocked me out and dragged me into a near by classroom, the niceties had been lost on me.

She glared at me, with me half expecting her eyes shoot out red sparks before she answered. "When you returned with James and you're friends, you left the door open between the worlds. I simply followed you."

"Now, the better question, _why_ are you here?" I asked.

Her expression was a mix of emotions. "Why do you think?" she shot back viciously.

It hit me. "Oh, let me guess." I laughed, finding the humour in the situation. "You can't get the door to open again." The laughing continued. "You're stuck here." The idea that someone like her was out of control with no way home, for some reason, had become extremely amusing.

In a fit of rage, she reached out and pulled me up, her fingers clenched around my throat. The laughter ceased. "Wrong," she said, a wicked smile crossing her face.

Then I realised why I was there. "Oh dear," I said. "You're going to use me to open it aren't you?" I asked. It was more a statement than a question, yet the intention was clear behind it.

"Finally, the human catches on."

"I wouldn't be so heavy on the human thing, at the moment, you're human you know." I pointed out.

She growled in a very inhuman manner as if to show just how very wrong I was. Still, she couldn't deny, here in my world she was not a vampire.

Moving on, "Anyway, you're at a loss here. The portal doesn't open on command, trust me. Besides, even if I did know how to work it, I wouldn't open it for you." I shot out stubbornly.

This brought a glow out of Victoria, one I didn't like. "Wrong on two accounts now, you control the portal more than you know. And if I'm right, I don't think it will take that much effort to get you to open it, whether you like it or not." At this she released her grip on my throat, letting me fall to the floor again.

Her strength surprised me. It was not the level that of a vampire – nowhere near that, but it was extremely strong for a human woman of her stature.

I tensed, waiting to hear her grand plan for getting me to open the portal. Part of me knew what was coming, the other denied it and simply sat impatiently.

"So?" I urged, wishing it wouldn't work and that she'd just let me go. This seemed so unlikely it was laughable but still, I couldn't help dreaming.

Victoria smiled again, cruelly. "You and I both know that you're dying to see Edward again." At my confused expression she continued, "Oh yes, I know exactly what's been going on the last few months. Every time you open a door it seems to lead back to him." Clearly I hadn't had much alone time the last two months. Victoria had been watching me. Planning this.

"That's none of your business." I said quietly. My mind was racing, trying to block things out. I mustn't think about him. You can't go back there. You promised.

"Don't you want to go back there? All that lies between you is a little…tiny…door." She pressed confidently.

No, no, no. Ashley focus. Don't let her manipulate you this way.

But he's so close. All I have to do is give in. Just a little while. I just want to see him one more time.

No, you can't!

"He's so close Ashley. Just open the door between you." Victoria continued.

A small visit. I won't even speak to him. I'll just…just watch. I need to see him. See… _Edward._

The defensive part of my mind which had been in place for so long, restricting every name and every memory was gone. The resistance had been lost and I knew that there was nothing I could do about it.

Watching my defeated expression, Victoria reached out for the door to the hallway and swung it open. Faded sunlight shone through into the room, casting shadows on my face. Victoria laughed in triumph, standing inches away from the opening.

Now she could go, she could leave. I had done what she'd asked. Now she could just let me be.

"Can you let me go now, please?" I asked, the weakness etched into every word. "You got what you wanted. Just….just let me go." I was almost pleading for her to understand.

The malice returned in an instant, like the flick of a switch. "Let you go?" She echoed as though it were ridiculous. "Oh no, _no_," she laughed coldly. "You misunderstood. This was just the beginning."

At this she grabbed me by my legs. Without a second though, she threw me out of the classroom and into the pale sunlight.

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**A/N: ****There you go, hope it's alright and again I apologize for the slow pace and depression of the character but that's the way it's got to be. Remember to review. How I love reviews. **

_**Next Time on Return to Meyer: Ashley is back in Forks whether she likes it or not. What'**__**s worse, Victoria's on a rampage of revenge and will do anything to get it. The only problem is, Ashley may just be part of the plan. The target? Edward.**_


	2. Back Again

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, concepts and settings from ****"Twilight". Those are from the creation of Stephenie Meyer. The original idea itself belongs to the person who created the BBC miniseries, "Lost in Austen". **

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I hit the ground in front of me with a thud, my tied together wrists causing my arms to impact at an odd and painful angle. Looking up, from what I could tell, I was on a quiet street in front of an unfamiliar house. My eyes then caught sight of the funky looking mail box on the other side of the road and I remembered. This was one of the streets the school bus use to drive along on its way to school. Therefore, although I had never actually walked along it, I _had _seen it before.

Rolling over onto my other side, I could see Victoria standing almost directly under the door frame separating us. She looked at it with an odd mix of confusion, apprehension and eagerness all rolled into one. As though she appeared to notice my raised eyebrow at her actions, she casually walked through the barrier. I cracked a smile as she hit the ground but the gracefulness of the movement stopped me from laughing outright. If only I could ever looked like that when I fell. Well, I was willing to bet that Victoria didn't usually fall at all. Like Bella, clumsy appeared to be my middle name. The other day, I knocked a small bottle of blue food colouring off the pantry shelf, freezing in horror as it shattered across the tiles around my feet and covered everything in dark splatters. Let's just say that my mother was not happy and that my feet are still a patchy blue in some places – food colouring is a pain in the ass to get out of your skin even with a scrubbing brush.

In a swift motion Victoria got to her feet, fixing her now darkened eyes on me. For a moment I was afraid she was going to kill me then and there out of thirst. Vitoria had never been a vampire big in the way of self control.

Something that did annoy me was how easy her change from human to vampire had been between worlds. The opposite change had been absolutely horrible for Edward, Alice and James when I'd seen them cross the barrier, Edward almost dying of both starvation and dehydration at the same time. Yet, to make the change back, all you had to do was fall down, get up again and everything was Whoopi do.

Happy to find her old strength again, Victoria reached out and grabbed me, lifting me into the air. She snarled, her brilliant red hair flying out behind her as the wind caught it.

"Now," she said, "It's time to make a house call." Her face lit up at the idea of whatever it was she was planning. What had she'd said? Revenge? But why would Victoria want….oh crap. The reasoning hit me like a ton of bricks. Of course Victoria wanted revenge. Isn't that what she'd spent all of New Moon and Eclipse trying to get? (Well, before Edward had ripped her head off of course). Now she was speaking about a house call. If Victoria was out for revenge, then they only place we could possibly be going was the Cullens. But no, she wasn't stupid enough to walk into a house with seven other vampires who could easily kill her. Was she?

"Okay, look Victoria. I know you're really big on this whole revenge thing, but why don't we just sit and talk about this for a moment? I mean you and I both know that James was a real…" I didn't get to finish my ramble. The moment I mentioned James's name, her hand reached out and scratched it's nails down the side of my cheek. I cried out, feeling the stinging pain and the blood beginning to build underneath the wound.

"That wasn't very smart," I snapped. Her gaze focused in on my wounds, watching them intently with a longing that scared me. Great, now she was definitely going to kill me.

Forcing herself to snap out of it – she clearly had remembered that her original task was more important that just draining me here and now – she picked me up roughly and took off at top speed towards the nearest set of trees.

I winced over every bump and at the sight of every on coming tree. The terror I felt here and now was horrible compared to the moments I spent running with Edward. That had been a happy time. Here, I wanted to scream.

She continued to run, the determined look set into her features but she refused to again look at my face. Avoiding temptation until the time was right I guessed. I just hoped that Jasper wasn't planning to be around once we got there. I didn't think I could take two blood thirsty vampires at once, let alone one.

Victoria sniffed the air, a wide smile breaking out on her face. Obviously we were almost there. Fabulous, just _fabulous_.

We pressed on through the trees until I could finally hear the sounds of the river that normally ran past the Cullen house. Secretly I was hoping that Alice had had a vision and the family had formed a plan to get me away from Victoria. As the house finally came into view, I held my breath. Edward was inside there. Alice too. And I was so close to them. My heart thudded in my chest rapidly in a mix of anticipation and fear.

Victoria slowed her pace and walked out into the open driveway. It was there that she froze. Spinning around with me in toe, we came face to face with Emmett and Alice Cullen. My face lit up at the sight of them but the feeling was lost as Victoria held me closer to her threateningly.

"Victoria, to what do we owe the pleasure?" A familiar voice, ringing with authority spoke out in the silence.

Victoria turned around again to face the speaker. Carlisle. He seemed pleasant enough but the tension from the others was coming off in waves so large even I, the human, could feel them.

A loud growl emanated from Victoria's throat showing just how much of a pleasure it wasn't. I glanced around taking in Esme and Jasper who had approached from opposite sides. Whether she liked it or not, Victoria was surrounded. And she knew it.

Almost at exactly the same moment I did, Victoria realised who was missing. "Where's Edward?" She asked viciously through her teeth.

Carlisle's mouth opened but it was Alice that answered. "He's not here," Her voice was cold and hard, like steel. A tone I wasn't use to hearing from bubbly Alice.

"Then where can I find him?" she replied, equally coolly.

Esme glanced at Carlisle in concern. She could see where this was going and did not like it one bit. Her and me both.

"I don't think that that's such a good idea." Carlisle told her.

Victoria shook her head, "I'm sorry," she wrapped her fingers tightly around my throat, "What I should have said was, tell me where he is or I'll snap her neck." She corrected, as the others froze. Great, _now_ what the hell are they going to do.

Pressing the question again, "Edward, where is he?" she snapped.

Alice stepped in this time looking concerned. "He's in South America. Where, we don't know."

"Then you are going to ring him and find out." Victoria sneered.

Alice gave a questioning look to Carlisle as if checking that this was the best course of action. Carlisle gave a brief nod. She pulled out her mobile and pressed buttons in a blur of movement. This sure wasn't how I imagined speaking to Edward again – via a phone call to South America because I was being held hostage by a crazed vampire who wanted to kill me. Besides, what in the world was it with Edward and South America? As far as I could recall, that's where he was during New Moon.

Alice held the receiver up to her ear, waiting for him to pick up. Having read an excerpt from Edward's perspective that Stephenie Meyer wrote describing how Edward felt when Rosalie called to tell him Bella had been killed, I wondered whether he would even pick up the phone. He'd definitely been unwilling to do it then. It also made me wonder what Victoria would do if this happened.

My worry was pointless; a second later Alice was speaking. "Edward," she said calmly. I couldn't hear his voice from the other end but I knew he'd be in one of those brush off moods. The 'I-don't-want-to-talk-to-anyone-right-now' act.

"You have to head back here," she told him. Now I could hear his voice. _And why would I want to do that?_ The words were rude but the tone was more lifeless than that.

"Because Victoria will have something to say about it if you don't." she replied.

_Victoria?_ Now that had him going. _The red haired female?_

"Yes,"

Getting annoyed with this lack of informative conversation, I spoke out. "For crying out loud Alice, just tell him to get his butt back here unless he wants Victoria to slash my throat amongst a group of possibly hungry vampires." I knew I sounded like a pain in the ass but patience was never one of my finer qualities.

I could hear Edward trying to make out my muffled voice in what would be the background of his call. _Alice, what's going on? _His voice was harder now, anxious.

Victoria held out her hand for the phone, Alice giving her an odd look. She sighed and dropped the mobile into her hand. I felt Victoria's fingers loosen around me as she caught it and then it began.

Alice, taking advantage of Victoria's moment of weakness, rushed forward and grabbed her arm. Before I knew it, both hands were wrenched from around me and I went sprawling into the drive. I sat up gingerly, turning back to watch what was going on. The mobile sat unattended near by, I could see the call disconnected screen up.

Looking up at the others, I could see that both Alice and Jasper had launched themselves at Victoria who had just dodged them. Standing at the edge of the forest she eyed me.

"Don't even think about it." Emmett said, standing beside me.

She seemed to think for a moment whether I was worth the risk. Should she try to retrieve me now and possibly get pummelled by giant sized Emmett or – from the glint in her eyes – come back for me later. Without another thought she took off through the trees.

"Jasper, Emmett," Carlisle said as the pair hurtled after her.

Now that the drama had stopped, I realised that my chest and neck were stinging. Reaching up to touch it with, I pulled back my hand, crimson blood splashed across my fingertips. I cringed as the pain set in. When Alice had pulled back Victoria's hand, Victoria's nails had slashed across my body. And to think that I'd been worried about the skin deep scratches on my cheek.

Seeing my distress, Carlisle knelt at my side. He looked at my gashes, his eyes examining the wounds. Esme, Rosalie and Alice both stood back in order to keep a good distance between them and my blood.

"Ashley," Carlisle said kindly, "I need you to calm down. Your reaction is making it harder for the blood to stop." I realised that I was almost hyperventilating. Air seemed to be going in but it was as though it wasn't going anywhere. I nodded before finally slowly my breathing.

"Here," he helped me to my feet. "Let's get you inside and I'll clean them up." Catching sight of my expression he shot me a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, it's not as bad as it seems." Slowly, I followed him towards the house in silence.

My eyes flickered over every aspect of the house, connecting each part to my previous memories of it. The house was still as beautiful as I remembered and just as isolated. The sounds of the river as well as the surrounding bird life were the only things I could hear. It had been a while since I'd heard such peace.

Carlisle led me into the kitchen and gestured to a stool. I sat down as he went to retrieve his medical bag. A few seconds later he returned and began leaning over the tears in my skin. Antiseptic, wipes, a gluey substance and then finally bandages.

"While I'm here," Carlisle said as he pulled out the antiseptic again and began dabbing at the thin scratches on my cheek. I cringed away slightly as it stung. "There," he said at last, putting away his equipment and stepping back to give me some room. Well, at least until he caught sight of the lump on my forehead.

Without waiting to be asked, I answered the unspoken question in his eyes. "She knocked me out in the girls' bathroom." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Is it still painful?" he asked. I shook my head as he lightly touched it. "How about now?" he put pressure on it as I jumped at the sudden burst of it.

"Ouch, yes!" I exclaimed. He frowned and then reached into the bag and pulled out a couple of pills. Taking a glass from the cabinet nearby, he filled it up at the tap and handed it to me. I downed the tablets in two short gulps. "Thanks," I said gratefully.

Looking up, I noticed that Esme, Alice and Rosalie had joined us. Each looked grim except for Rosalie who looked as apathetic as ever.

Esme came closer, placing a friendly hand on my shoulder. "How are you?" she asked in concern.

I shrugged. "I'm fine. A little tired and battered but you know, I'll survive." I shot her a put on smile.

"I'm sorry we didn't get to you earlier Ashley," Alice apologized. "You know how that door between the worlds plays with my visions. By the time I knew where you were, the only way to get to you was to let you come to us."

"No problem, don't apologize. I should be thanking you for getting me out of that." I said. A strange joy filled me at the sight of them. I'd missed the Cullens so much, with the exception of Rose of course.

"They're back," Alice commented, turning to face the door. A moment later Jasper and Emmett trudged in looking frustrated.

"We lost her," Jasper said. "I don't know how but one minute she was there and the next she was gone."

I shook my head. "Escaping is kind of her SVT." I said, my eyes widening at the confused looks now facing me. "Special vampire thing," I clarified.

"That explains it," Emmett said, shaking his hair free of leaves and forest. Esme shot him a look in warning, the one that said 'you better clean that up the next chance you get'.

"And don't worry about it, she'll be back. Trust me." I said confidently, slipping off the stool and into a standing position.

"Back?" Esme asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, she's got this whole revenge vendetta against Edward. You killed my mate now I'm going to kill yours, yadda, yadda, yadda."

Carlisle gave Alice a look, "You should probably call Edward and let him know what's going on. He's probably thinking the worst after how the phone call before ended."

"Knowing Edward, he's probably already on a plane." Emmett snorted.

Alice smiled knowingly, "He'll board in ten minutes." She confirmed. "But I'll try him anyway."

I yawned widely, covering my mouth with my fingers still covered in dry blood. Esme gave me a warm smile. "You must be exhausted, Ashley." I was about to deny this when she cut me off, "There's a bathroom down the hall from Edward's room. You can wash up a little there and I'll go and fetch some blankets for you. You'll find them on the couch in Edward's room." She gave me a friendly guiding hand, directing me towards the staircase.

Normally I would have fought with her and denied being tired as I often did with my dad but after everything Victoria had put me through today, I wasn't going to decline some rest. Before left the room, I spun around to face the family, my expression anxious. "Alright, just promise that you'll wake me if anything major happens?" I asked desperately.

"Of course," Carlisle agreed, his eyes honest. At this I gave in to Esme's ushering and headed upstairs.

The bathroom was a spotless white on every surface and fluffy cream towels with a floral edging hung on a nearby rack. I looked at myself in the mirror and shuddered. I had a large purple lump on my forehead – at least it was better than the black eye I'd had last time I was here – and my hair was a complete mess. White, padded bandages covered my chest, parts covered by my uniform, and some of my neck. The scratches on my cheek had closed but were still red and raw looking. To top it off, I had panda eyes from yesterday's mascara and lack of sleep.

I washed my hands under the cool water and watched as the water ran red for a short period. I then began running my fingers through my hair. It flattened it ever so slightly but it still was far from presentable. I splashed my face with water and then dried it off with the towel. Luckily nothing too bad seemed to come off on Esme's spotless towels.

Seeing nothing else to do, I headed out and padded on down the hall.

Edward's room was just as I remembered it, the dark leather couch, the wall of glass windows and the shelves upon shelves of organised CDs. Just as she'd said, Esme had left a folded blanket and sheet on the edge of the couch along with a pair of pyjamas. Silky feeling and expensive looking pyjamas. I just hoped that I wouldn't mess them up. With a look outside, I could see that the sky had darkened quite a bit in the short time I'd been here. We'd clearly arrived here in the late afternoon and it had not taken look for the day to come to a close. I had no idea what the time was here, my watch being set for home time, and I didn't care.

I stripped off and pulled on the pyjamas before laying out the linen and crawling under it on Edward's couch. The leather was cool underneath my body but I soon forgot it as I fell, for the first time in a long while, into a deep sleep.

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**A/N: Don't forget to review. Hope you're enjoying it so far. :)**

_**Next Time on Return to Meyer: With the Cullens protecting her, Ashley is safe for now. But with Edward's return to Forks and Victoria's next step a mystery, relaxation doesn't seem to be in Ash's sights just yet. Next Time.**_


	3. Reunion

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, concepts and settings from ****"Twilight". Those are from the creation of Stephenie Meyer. The original idea itself belongs to the person who created the BBC miniseries, "Lost in Austen". **

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Okay, maybe it wasn't as deeper sleep as I thought it was. My eyes flickered open at the sight of the fresh sunlight streaming through Edward's wall of glass. The next thing I noticed were the legs of a chair sitting right beside the couch. Looking upwards, I noticed the person sitting on it. Tall, pale, dark eyed and topped off by a mess of shining bronze hair. I smiled, taking in every inch of his skin as it glittered in the rays of sun and the focused expression he wore on his face while his eyes darted across the page of an extremely thick looking book.

"Hmm…I wish I had something like this to wake up to every morning." I mused as I moved my body, propping myself up on my elbow. Edward looked down from his book, his face blank as he looked me over.

"You're awake," He said softly, leaning over and placing the book on his desk.

I shrugged, "Yep." I attempted to move into a sitting position but to my dismay was faced with a burst of pain. Some directed from the lump on my head, the other from the sudden stretching of the scratches across my chest.

My expression twisted and I held my breath, waiting for it to pass. Edward looked anxious but settled for handing me two pills and a glass of water. "Carlisle told me that you'd be wanting this once you woke." He explained while I downed the pills.

"Well, he was right about that." I groaned, touching my bandages. Edward's eyes followed my hands until he looked away, anger spreading across his features. "What's wrong?" I asked in confusion.

He shook his head as he muttered something unintelligible. "What?" I prodded. He turned his face back towards me.

"You came back," he said. Okay, he was angry because I came back here? Great. Not what I was expecting. Maybe a hug or an "I've missed you". Not "bummer, you told me you weren't coming back so I've moved on now".

"Yes, I-" I began but he cut me off, placing a finger over my lips.

My eyes widened, waiting. "You came back, and I wasn't here." He finished. Oh, now I got it. Victoria brought me back, held me like a hostage and he's all annoyed at himself because he wasn't here to play superman. Gosh, Edward. Sometimes you can be so completely frustrating. Well, if wasn't so sweet.

"Edward, trust me, I'm fine. You're family got me out of it. Victoria's head for the hills anyway," I told him reassuringly.

Again he shook his head, "Fine?" he scoffed. "You call _this _fine?" He ran his fingers lightly over my head, cheek and bandages looking furious yet, his touch was light as a feather.

"Well, there are no broken bones and I'm not dead, so yeah. I call this fine." I tried in my best upbeat tone. He gave me a look to which I rolled my eyes. "Look, I'm sorry I got my throat slashed and my head wacked in, okay?"

"It isn't your fault."

I looked at him angrily. "Then where the hell is all this hostility coming from?" I asked.

He leaned back, his expression guilty. He stood up and began pacing. "I apologize. You're right. You've been through quite enough without me adding to it. I'll leave you to rest." He said formally.

This was the last straw. Throwing back the covers, I marched towards the door. Edward looked down at me in surprise. "All that time Victoria was throwing me about, you know what I thought? Hey, at least I'll get to see Edward again. Because believe it or not, I've really missed you these last few months. I get here, you're family is great but you? From you I get 'you're not fine' 'I should've been in South America' 'Here are your pills and I'll leave you alone to rest'." I said, my voice loud and angry. "If you'd moved on Edward, you just had to say so. If I'm not welcome, fine. I'll leave."

With my head held high – pulsing full of head-ache pain – I began to walk past him through the door when his hand tightened around my wrist, pulling me back. I looked up in surprise at this spur of the moment gesture and opened my mouth to speak, to tell him to let me go. The words caught in my throat as his mouth closed passionately over mine. I gasped as all my senses overwhelmed me. The feel of his lips on mine, his fingers locking through my own, the sweet smell of his breath and skin and the beauty of his sparkling skin so close to me.

I lent back against the wall, a feeling of joy coursing through every limb as he moved his lips onto the unharmed side of my neck. I shivered, a smile spreading across my face. He leant back, his dark eyes looking deeply into my own, his own crooked smile facing me. Softly he pressed his lips once more to my own for the briefest of seconds before pulling away. How his self control was mustering these ones, I had no idea.

"Ashley, I love you. I've always loved you. How could I possibly move on when you are always a door away from me?" he brushed his fingers down my cheek as I trembled. "You say you missed me?" his smile broadened. I nodded. "It's nothing compared to how much I missed you. I flew all the way to South America and spent time in the most isolated places. All I could think about was you. It was…maddening."

I laughed. "You think you've had it bad, you should see my half yearly report."

** **** **

From the staircase I could hear the sounds of people cheering and groaning loudly. A few words followed in a tone I was familiar with. It was the noise that emitted from our family room when my mum was watching some sort of sport. Usually football but on occasion cricket could produce a similar response.

"What's the score?" Edward asked as we approached Jasper and Emmett on the lounge. Both sat poised on the edge of the couch, Emmett looking triumphant, Jasper…well, he had his head in his hands.

Jasper looked up at the sound of Edward's voice, giving him a look. "It's so bad I can't even discuss it," He said, getting to his feet.

Emmett chuckled, "What did I tell you? I think I'll take my winnings in cash thanks." He grinned broadly. Obviously the pair had been betting again. Not that I could blame them, it always seemed to keep things interesting.

Jasper rolled his eyes and left. Emmett turned his attention back to us, his eyes locking in on our intertwined hands. "Well, I see you two didn't waste any time." He gave me a wink which I returned with a raised eyebrow and an open mouth.

Edward ignored the jibe, seating himself down on the couch. His expression was serious. "Any sign of Victoria?" he asked.

Emmett shook his head, "Not yet. If I were her, I'd probably be getting as far away from here as possible. But trust me, if she decides to make the trip back, you'll know." I was sure of that. Just what he exactly planned on doing, I didn't know. Did I want to know? I had a feeling it would involve dismantling body parts.

"Besides," Emmett leaned back, "Edward, you've just got back. Relax a little." He made a mocking face, "Oh, that's right. I forgot. You're always too high strung to relax. Wonder how Ashley deals with it."

"High strung huh?" Edward's expression softened, a familiar playfulness entering his eyes. Oh dear, I thought, backing away.

Before I could react, Edward had tackled Emmett across the couch. They hit the ground with a smack, rolling around in a heap. It would have been violent if the laughter hadn't of been so audible.

"Okay Emmett, two-hundred…" Jasper began, returning to the room with a wad of cash but pausing as he caught sight of the boys rolling on the floor. He shot me a look, I shrugged.

At this moment Alice entered the room, her face strained. "Emm, Edward! Don't –" she tried to say. A second later the room was filled with a loud crash. I froze, looking down at my feet now surrounded by shards of broken vase. Oh great. And why did I have to choose now to walk around bare foot?

Emmett and Edward stopped, glancing up at the sound. Emmett's smile disappeared. "Oh crap," he said. "Esme's going to…" his comment was cut off as the vampire in question entered the room, a disapproving look on her face.

"Boys!" she said in frustration, looking at me in the middle of the vase shards. I was staying perfectly still, something my parents had always told me was the best idea around sharp remains of something broken. Esme ran a hand through her hair. "That was an antique." she shot Edward and Emmet an unhappy look. The pair had gotten to their feet looking sheepish.

"Oops." Was Emmett's response.

"Sorry Esme, I'll do my best to replace it." Although he was being polite, the level of good humour he'd been showing before was still bubbling beneath the surface. I was glad. I loved it when Edward was in this good a mood.

Cutting in, "Err…a little help?" I prodded.

Edward shot me a grin before walking nonchalantly across the shards and swinging me up into his arms. "Whoa!" I cried at the suddenness of the movement.

Alice rolled her eyes, "I tried to tell you." She said.

I looked up at Edward, "It gives a more literal meaning to 'sweep me off my feet'." I joked. He set me down on carpet free of cut opportunities and stepped back.

"Go get dressed," he told me, eyeing my pyjama-ed up state. "I think I know someone who'll be very happy to see you."

I gave him a look, "Any telling me who this person is?"

He shook his head, that knowing and frustrating smile playing across his lips. "That's for me to know and you to find out."

I began heading upstairs before turning back with a retort, "Fine, then I'm secretly hoping its Mike Newton."

** **** **

I'd gone upstairs expecting to be spending the day in my school uniform when Alice cut me off, shoving a set of folded clothes into my arms. It was obviously a pleasant temperature outside because I found myself wearing a spring dress. She also held out a familar necklace.

"I found it outside after you were thrown across the pavement. The chain broke so I've replaced it with one as close to the original as I could find. I also managed to clean the blood off so it should be good as new." I sighed in relief as she clasped the necklace around my neck. I was so relieved to have it back after I'd believed I'd lost it. This had been a gift from Edward for my birthday, a diamond heart charm which he'd placed on a chain for me. It had also been the charm he'd given Bella in Eclipse to put on Jacob's charm bracelet.

"Thank you so much, Alice. I'd thought I'd lost it." I said gratefully.

Joining Edward downstairs, he smiled. "You look beautiful." He whispered in my ear as I passed. I also noticed the moment of pure happiness he felt as he caught sight of the silver chain at my throat.

"I better not spent too much time around you, before I know it I'll have an ego the size of North America." I teased.

He held out his hands, "I'm just telling you the truth." At this I followed him out into the garage and towards his silver Volvo. It had been a while since I'd sat in it and the feeling was nice. Edward took off at his usual faster than the average speed, a determined look on his face. I sat listening to the music emitting from the CD player, not really paying attention to where we were going.

Before I knew it we were pulling up and in park. "We're here." Edward announced, getting out of the drivers seat. He rushed around the front in a blur, opening my own door for me. Getting out, I recognised where I was immediately. The sight of my surroundings plastered a wide smile on my face.

We were parked out front of the Swans' house.

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**A/N: Hey everyone, as always I apologize for the tragic gramma and remind you to review. Remember how much I like to hear your thoughts and ideas. :)**

_**Next Time on Return to Meyer: **__**Charlie shocked but pleased by Ashley's sudden return to Forks but with the odd questions firing out and Ash struggling to find the answers, will Charlie figure it out?**_

_**Next Time.**_


	4. Catching Up

**Disclaimer: Don't own Twilight, wish I did, but don't. And a big thank you to Beverly who actually told me that the person who created Lost in Austen is Guy Andrews. So thanks Guy Andrews. I can finally use your name now. :D**

**A/N: Sorry, it's been a while. I've been distracted and lazy. I know I'm horrible. Occasionally I really just need a big kick in the butt to get going. So here's the new chap. Hope it's okay, as always excuse the grammar and let me know what you think. **

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Without waiting for Edward to follow, the eagerness to see my friend again bubbling up inside of me, I walked as fast as my legs could carry me towards the house. Charlie's police cruiser was parked directly across from me in the drive, the soft sounds of a television emitting from somewhere inside the house filling the air.

I knocked loudly, cringing as I felt my knuckles smack against the wood. If Edward had noticed, he didn't say anything. I heard the sound of chair creaking as someone got to their feet, a drink can being set down on the coffee table and then footsteps slowly making their way towards the foyer. At last the door swung open.

Charlie blinked down at me, as though trying to guess whether or not he was merely seeing things. His hair was ruffled, lips set in a line underneath his moustache and a plaid shirt sitting simply over a grey T. He was clearly in relaxation mode, a can of beer, loose clothing and some sort of sport playing on the television. Yes, definitely Charlie.

Feeling awkward and inadequate, I twisted my feet inward and lowered my chin. "Err…hi Charlie." I finally pushed out.

"Good afternoon Chief Swan," Edward offered politely but Charlie seemed too fixated on my presence to be able to deal with that of Edward's just yet. Understanding this, Edward stood straightly and silently, waiting for some other form of conversation to pick up.

After what seemed like hours – although I do tend to lean towards the dramatic – Charlie's mouth opened and sound came out. "Ashley, what are you doing here?" he asked. Though the words may have seemed unfriendly, the tone was not. Besides, I'd spent too much time with him to be offended so easily.

"Well, the chance to come back to Forks came up and, you know, I just found it hard to….resist." I smiled broadly, hoping to ease the awkwardness of the mood. This was true. Victoria had provided the chance and it's not like I'd protested for very long. I'd never exactly been great with temptation, especially under pressure. My chocolate addiction was proof of that.

Suddenly the moment shattered. A wide grin spread across Charlie's face as he stepped to the side, gesturing for me to come through into the house. "It's good to see you, come in." he said. I stepped past him, into the hallway, Charlie following close behind. Edward, apparently forgotten, shut the door quietly behind us and, ever the polite houseguest, proceeded in casually and exaggeratingly wiping the soles of his shoes on the mat. God, when you knew the truth you began to wonder how over the top certain actions had to be in order for the Cullens to appear human.

Charlie wrapped one arm around me in a sort of embarrassed hug before leading us into the living room. "Anything I can get you?" he said, referring to refreshments. Edward, as usual, declined. I followed in suit.

The house was just as I remembered it. The chairs old and comfy, the kitchen with its shabbily painted yellow cabinets but still giving off a homey feel, and the living room filled with photographs of Bella as if showing her life in pictures. I sat down, breathing in the feeling of it all. In some ways, this was now regarded as my home away from home.

"So," Charlie began, his voice suddenly gruff. "How've you been?"

"Alright," I offered. "You know, reports, work placement, family stuff. Same old, same old," I shrugged. "You?"

"Good," he said casually. Softly he repeated the sentiment under his breath, "good,"

"How's Bella?" I asked, struggling to keep the conversation going. When I'd lived with Charlie, we hadn't been big on the talking, not that I'm not a talker because I really am.

"She's fine. After you left she went to live with her mom and Phil in Jacksonville." He paused. "I heard from her a couple of weeks ago, she says it's hot. But then again, that's kinda the way she likes it," I nodded; Bella had never been big on the cold or the wet. Jacksonville was probably paradise for her. For me, the humidity and heat would be absolute hell.

Watching Charlie's face I could tell how much he missed her and how lonely he must feel living alone again. By the look on Edward's face, he was reading the same thoughts from his mind.

"So, no suspicious deaths in the area lately?" I asked, not thinking as the words popped out of my mouth. They had been in attempt to lighten the mood but by the different responses from the pair, it was a much failed one. Charlie looked surprised that I would know about something like this but also a little stressed, Edward looked shocked, as if unbelieving that I would bring something that sounded vampire related to Charlie's attention.

"No way, you're kidding? I didn't honestly mean…I mean, I'm sorry…oh crap," I put a hand on my face. "I am the worst conversationalist ever,"

"Don't worry about it, you couldn't of known." he said gruffly, standing up and heading into the kitchen. He returned with a creased newspaper in his hand before handing it to me. I peered down at the bold, black font stretched across the page.

**FRESH ATTACK STUMPS WASHINGTON POLICE**

**In the late hours of Wednesday this week, the body of seventeen year old Taylor Bryce was found submerged in the forests surrounding the small town of Forks, Washington. According to sources, Bryce was last seen Sunday morning after the teen informed her parents she would be spending the day bushwalking. **

**The signs of damage to the body and circumstances of death link closely with that of the deaths of Christopher Krell, Robbie Parks, Rosa Lawson and Danielle Forester. With the body count piling up at an alarming rate within only the last couple of months, fears are mounting. Neighboring communities had best lock up their houses; something monstrous is hunting the town of Forks.**

**For more information see page 13. **

"Whoa, I'm having Eclipse déjà vu right about now," I said without thinking. Charlie shot me a confused look, one that I had gotten use to facing while living in Forks. For a while it had seemed like the same look had been permanently etched into Edward's features. Well, that is, until he found out about the books.

Feeling both sets of eyes on me, I quickly backtracked. "Oh, sorry, just some TV show I saw. Ignore me," I twisted my fingers around uncomfortably.

"So….how long has this been going on now?" I asked, interested.

Charlie thought, "About two months or so."

I frowned, "And you have no idea who's doing it?"

"We're doing our best but apart from the bodies themselves, the crime scenes have been clean as a whistle. No trace of anything. Quite a few people are under the impression that they're wolf attacks."

"Wolf attacks?" I blurted out stupidly before a bell went off in the back of my brain. Of course people suspect the wolves. It's just like in the second book, murders and hikers catching the occasional glimpse of the beginnings of Jacob's pack. With Jacob on the mind, I made a mental note to take a trip down to the reservation to see him while I was here. Maybe even meet the famous Quil and Embry if I was lucky.

He nodded, "Yeah, there've been a few sightings of large wolves in the area lately. Word of advice, while you're here I'd avoid any bushwalking."

I raised an eyebrow, "Because you know how much I love doing _that_." I replied sarcastically.

"Well….yes," he agreed. "But just in case," he eyed Edward. "I'd avoid the family trips for a while Edward," he advised.

Edward smiled, "Thank you Chief Swan but we can take care of ourselves," he said politely. Yeah, like there was anything out there the Cullens couldn't handle. Apart from the Voltori that is.

"Ashley, where are you staying?" Charlie asked all of a sudden.

I titled my head, "….I _was_ going to be staying with Edward but–" I began but he swiftly cut me off.

"Bella's room is empty and I'm sure she wouldn't mind you using it again. If you want it, it's there." He offered.

I smiled at the idea. Hmmm…options. Normally I wasn't so big on making choices. Choices are hard and I don't like to offend people if I can help it.

"I'm sure Ashley would like that very much," Edward said, answering for me. I spun around on the couch, twisting my body to face him and a surprised look crossing my face. Was he _that_ eager to get rid of me?

Edward ignored the look, "I'll drop her off with her clothes later this afternoon," he added. Okay, great but what stuff? The only things I had with me were the articles of my ruffled up school uniform and I wasn't about to go around wearing that. People would think I'd been through some sort of attack. Oh wait….that's right.

Charlie looked happy but at the same time as though he was trying to make it seem casual.

"Good, I mean, okay. If that's what you want." He said roughly.

Getting to my feet, I looked down. "Yeah, that sounds good, but there's some other people I'd like to go see, if that's alright?"

Charlie stood as well, nodding. "Sure, sure, don't let me keep you. You kids run along," he ushered us.

Giving him a grin I made my way to the door, the pair of them followed behind me. "So, I'll see you later?" I checked. Charlie nodded.

"You bet," he said.

"It's was good to see you again, Chief Swan." Edward said, as they shook hands.

Charlie gave another curt nod before allowing us to move past him and out the open door. He shut the door behind us, as Edward and I began making our way down the path towards the car.

Without looking back, I voiced what had been bothering me. "Not so eager to have me as a house guest are you?" I said, only partly teasing.

He quickened his pace until he was standing in front of me. "Ashley," He said, smiling slyly as though I were missing something obvious. And knowing me, I was. "You know I would love to have you at my house but I would have thought you'd understand why that isn't possible."

I frowned thoughtfully, looking for complex excuses and completely missing the obvious. Seeing my struggle, he rolled his eyes and sighed. "You and I both know it's been harder for Jasper than usual at the moment, not to mention what the exposure of your blood did for him the other day. Lessoning the amount of time spent in the presence of my family would be beneficial at the present time, at least for the next couple of days." He reasoned.

"Oh," I felt like smacking my head against a wall. Jasper, right. "Okay, no problem. If that's what you need."

"I appreciate it," he told me sincerely. "But while we're talking about clarification, I'm curious about something."

I looked up from the patch of grass I had started staring at, "Hmm? What about?"

He grinned, "Where else is it that you plan on me chauffeuring you to?"

I smiled sheepishly, feeling embarrassed. It was true, I _was_ taking advantage of him. "Not that I mind," he added on, noticing my expression. "

"Sorry, I know I shouldn't be telling you to drive me round." I admitted.

He shook his head, "Like I said, I don't mind. Remember, after the last two months, I'll jump at any chance to spend some time with you and speaking of the time we've been apart," he stepped closer and fingered a strand of my hair. "What in the world gave you the urge to do this to your hair?"

At last he'd mentioned my dye job. A couple of weeks ago I'd gone to the hairdressers in need of a change. The result, a whole lot of sandy blonde streaks. Plus my front fringe had grown out to the side. Nowadays I had to clip it back to avoid it hanging in my eyes and driving me crazy.

"Err…." I mumbled, "You don't like it?" Edward gazed at it thoughtfully, playing with lock and twisting it around his fingers.

"It's different," he concluded at last. Great, thanks, like I haven't heard that one before. Come on, I need a little bit more than that.

"Good different or bad different?" I pressed.

He shrugged, letting the lock drop into place. "Just different,"

I rolled my eyes, walking past him to hop into the front seat. He joined me before I could blink. Looking down at me thoughtfully, clearly still thinking about my hair colour, he raised an eyebrow. Then the mood was broken. "Alright," he said, starting the car and letting the soft purr of the engine fill the air. "Now where to?" I glanced out the front windshield, smiling as it started to drizzle.

"The Newtons' sporting goods store, please."

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**A/N: There you go, just a little nice and relaxed conversation with Charlie. Again, apologies for being so slow. No idea when the next chap will be up, assessments are being fired at me like there's no tomorrow at the moment so I'm sorry if it takes a while. Remember to review, I loves reviews.**

_**Next Time on Return to Meyer….Its time Ashley says hello to some of her other old Forks friends. Only problem is, the person she really wants to see is about half an hour away. Not to mention that her boyfriend isn't so big on werewolves….this road's about to get bumpy. Just another day in a supernatural, fictional world.**_

_**Next Time….**_


	5. Conflict

**Disclaimer: It's nearly all Stephenie Meyer except for the concept itself which is Guy Andrews. What's left is mine. (If there is anything left.)**

**A/N: I know, I know. I've been so slack but I have good reasons, trust me. I've had exams these last two weeks and studying to do before them. Anyway, now I'm on school holidays so perfectly free to write the next chapter for you all. As usual sorry about the grammar, I'm too lazy to edit my work. Enjoy!**

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**Return to Meyer**

**5. Conflict**

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It was the same.

Two months hadn't changed a thing. Not that I thought it would, it was _only_ two months. When Edward and I turned up at the Newton's sporting store, Mike had been working his shift like usual, trying to put up with frustrating know-it-all customers. Still, I'll never forget the look on his face when he saw me come in, pure and utter happiness. Maybe a little too much happiness. No, I'm not even going to follow that train of thought.

To my surprise, Jessica had been hanging out with Mike at the store. I wasn't sure whether they were still going out or not at the present moment in time but decided that if the answer was no, it was probably not the best thing to ask. I made a mental note to ask Edward later, that is if he was still speaking to me after our conversation in the car. It was why I was standing in the store alone, while he waited for me in the car.

All I'd done was ask about the newspaper article I'd read back at Charlie's. No big deal. I'd just thought that perhaps there was more to his knowledge on the subject than he was letting on in front of our uniformed police chief friend. Well, my uniformed police chief friend. Charlie had never been that bigger fan of Edward. Anyway, as innocent as the topic had intended to be, it definitely hadn't ended up that way.

"Edward, are werewolves really the culprits behind these attacks? You and I both know that werewolves aren't one for attacking humans, let alone harmless bushwalkers." I reasoned, broaching the subject as Edward stopped at a red light. I noticed his knuckles clench and whiten on the steering wheel at my use of the 'w' word. I also could have sworn I felt the speed increased for a short moment.

"Aren't one for attacking humans? You're forgetting Emily, Ashley." He reminded me, his voice low and emotionless.

"Yes, but that was an accident. Sam didn't know what he was doing. You know…" I began to protest.

He cut me off immediately, a tinge of anger colouring his tone. "No, I don't know. As far as I'm concerned, werewolves are still a risk. You don't know their species like I do."

My jaw dropped. How could he think this way after what had happened in the books? He knew they were good people! God, did he always have to be this frustrating?

"They aren't doing this, Edward. And they're not a risk. Jacob took care of Bella, he protected her. He never lost control!" I felt my voice raising, anger building.

He snapped his head in my direction, his eyes narrowing. "Ashley, this isn't fiction. It's real life. What you've read in the past is of no importance to me. Here and now, I'm saying that they're dangerous. You mustn't forget that."

"I'm haven't forgotten what they can do, I'm just saying that they're self control isn't as weak as you think it is." I argued.

He growled in frustration, as though having a conversation with a naïve child. "You have no idea of the things that have happened in the past as a result of werewolves."

"What? And vampires are perfect little integrated members of society?" I almost couldn't believe my own ears. I was arguing for werewolves and opposing vampires to do it. My god, what has this world come to?

"I'm not saying _that_!" he snapped, his temper beginning to fully let loose. Realising this, he seemed to take a deep breath. "Let's not discuss this anymore,"

I folded my arms stubbornly, a prickling sensation building up in the corners of my eyes. Just like Bella, I tend to get teary when I get angry. It's worse when I'm trying to argue and my throat starts getting choked up. Not willing to simply sit like a sulky kid, I threw out the thing I could think of, without thinking about the effect it might have on him.

"_So_ he could kill me at any moment, then what's the difference between you and him?" The words were mumbled but by the flinch Edward gave, I had no doubt in the world that he'd heard every word.

By the time we'd arrived at our destination, I had simmered down a little but being the stubborn person I am, I had kept up the silence. Then again, it wasn't like Edward had rapidly launched into conversation. He'd remained frozen, his eyes fixed on the road. After glancing at him enough times, I realised he wasn't even bothering to blink like a human being. By the stillness of his chest, clearly he wasn't breathing either. Great, just great.

I got out of the car, closing the door hard behind me unintentionally. Waiting for him to appear out of nowhere beside me, I looked around finding empty space. Leaning down and looking in through the open window, I spoke. "You're not coming in?"

He looked at me, his face straight and serious. "You'll want to speak with your friends. I wouldn't want to intrude on the conversation." Sure, you don't. You're just pissed off at me and are just as bloody stubborn as I am.

"Edward, don't be stupid." I replied.

He shook his head, unsmiling. "You go, I'll wait here." And almost as though he'd rolled the window up on me, he looked away and began flicking through CDs in his glove box. Feeling steamed up again, I rolled my eyes and headed on in.

After catching up with Mike and Jess about what I'd missed over the last few months, I couldn't help but get a certain feeling deep inside my chest. It was like something was missing. Or that something had been added where it didn't belong. I couldn't understand or place it but for some reason I knew I just had to get out of there. Finding myself returning to the silence of Edward's car, the discomfort grew. Pushing it from my mind, I waited until we reached Edward's again. He led me upstairs to his room where a new suitcase lay filled with sets of clothes in my size and style. Packed beneath the clothing were a couple of equally new novels. From a glance at the tag lines and snippets of the blurb I could see that Alice had done quite a bit of analysing of my room the time she'd been there. Vampire novels. What else?

Picking up the bag with ease, Edward glanced at me briefly, explaining the suitcase. "Alice believed that using the airport lost my luggage excuse twice in a row would be less than effective so she went shopping. Besides, with Bella's clothing absent from Charlie's house, you would be left with the choice of what you're wearing or your school uniform." Blunt facts. Still without emotion. I'd must have really hurt or angered him. As much as I wanted to apologize or say something to fix it, my lips felt glued together.

He dropped me quickly off at Charlie's, saying that he was needed elsewhere and that he was sorry he couldn't stay. Again the cool tone and blank eyes. With each word I could feel the feeling from earlier growing.

Charlie was happy to see me, eagerly showing me up to Bella's room and leaving me to unpack. I forced a smile, nodding and agreeing at the right moments.

"Oh, almost forgot. Billy and Jacob are having a few people over for dinner tonight. I was planning to go on down there but we can go together or stay here, your choice." He told me. "But just so you know, Jacob's looked a little bit down over the last few weeks. I think he'd be happy to see you."

Jacob? I'd get to see Jacob again? No way was I passing up that offer. Agreeing to be ready whenever he wanted to go, I spent the next couple of hours engaging myself in one of my new novels and pressing Edward from my thoughts. As long as he didn't leave me and run away to Italy, everything was alright in my books.

As I read, I couldn't help but notice how dramatic these sort of novels made the human-vampire relationship seem. They were right of course, it was complicated but in this world of vampires there was no pleasurably feeding just a little bit of your lover or passionate make out sessions made better by your partner being some sort of supernatural creature. Here it was more like, "No, we mustn't! For I will find myself too tempted by your blood and body to be so very close to you!"

Okay, yeah, I know. It's a bit over the top, but still true in some ways.

There were days I wanted to strangle Edward (not that it would do anything), some of which when I had been reading the books and then there were others. The days when I just wanted him to touch me and never stop touching me. Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple. Maybe I'd just have to start reading Mills and Boon novels to make up for it. Edward's face if he ever saw me reading one of those, now _that_ would be funny.

No, no more thinking about Edward. I closed that mental box again before hopping in the shower and getting ready to drive down to La Push.

The ride down was pleasant enough, well, if you didn't stop to think about the flashing lights on the top of the police car. Charlie and I chatted about a number of different things, he started singing badly to a rather old tune on the radio and before I knew it we were parked a few meters away from Jacob's barn.

"Charlie, how's it going?" I heard a voice call from behind us. A man about Billy and Charlie's age had begun to approach us, a woman a little distance behind him. Both were smiling and seemed friendly enough.

"Hey Harry, Sue." Charlie returned the greeting. "Good, good." Ah, Harry and Sue Clearwater. Taking a good look at Harry, I couldn't help but feel a small pang beneath my chest. As happy as everyone seemed now, in a few months they would be standing around a coffin, mourning him and hating the heart attack that would take him from them. I avoided my eyes as both men shook hands.

"Harry, this is Ashley. She's a family friend from Australia, come to stay for a while." He explained briefly. Harry shot me a broad smile.

"Nice to meet you Ashley," He said, Sue had reached us and warmly leaned over, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"You too," I returned the smile.

"Come on in, Billy and the kids are hanging out in the kitchen." Following them up the ramp to the door, we passed through the house until we'd joined the others in the kitchen. Billy was at the table watching the small TV screen across the room. An older girl was poised against a counter on the far right of the room and a younger boy was in the chair beside Billy. Seth and Leah Clearwater I assumed.

Poised over the sink, appearing to be doing a week's worth of built up dishes and wearing a new chopped haircut, was Jacob. The haircut startled me, not because it was new to my eyes but because I knew what it signified. I'd suspected as much when I'd heard Charlie's comment about Jake's unhappiness lately. He was already a werewolf. The only reason I could come up with for the speediness of the change compared to the time span in the book was that in the novel vampires had left Forks. In this version of events they were still currently residing here.

Billy looked away from the screen, "Look who it is, nice to see you can still fit us into your schedule Charlie."

Charlie shifted his weight from one foot to another as he set a six pack of beer down on the table. "I'm a busy guy." Charlie joked. "Hey Jake," he said loudly in Jacob's direction. Jake remained facing the wall but lifted a hand in the air as a sort of silent hello.

"Nice to see you again, Ashley." Billy said, turning his attention to me. I glanced at Jacob who had frozen while introductions to the other Clearwaters were made briskly. Feeling a little awkward, I moved my shoulders before realising that the bag I'd brought down with me was still in the car. Asking Charlie for the car keys, I skipped out and began walking back to the car. Unlocking the front and pulling out the loose satchel Alice had picked out, I swung the strap across my front and locked the door behind me. Suddenly, I stopped. The hairs began to stand up on the back of my neck and I could hear my heart starting to race as blood pumped around my body.

Spinning around, startled, I froze as soon as a familiar face came into view. I threw up a hand and wacked the person on the shoulder, relieving the momentarily built up tension.

"Ouch," Jacob complained with a laugh. "What was that for?"

I gave him a look before joining in laughing. "You scared the hell out of me. Didn't anyone ever tell you not to sneak up on people?"

"Sorry," he said, holding out his arms with a sly smile. "Do I still get a hug?" Raising an eyebrow, I launched myself onto him, my eyes widening at the heat he was giving out. God, no wonder he'd been referred to as a space heater. Whoa.

"Wow, I didn't think you'd be this warm!" I exclaimed once I'd been freed from his mess of long limbs.

Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow. "You thought I'd be warm?" He questioned.

Oh dear. Grinning sheepishly, I started thinking up excuses. "Errr…you know how I on occasion tend to say stupid stuff like, oh, I dunno, I can stuff an entire slice of bread in my mouth at once?" He nodded, remembering our little competition. "This is just like that. It's like compulsive talking. Just ignore it, you'll get use to it." He smiled then stopped, his face appearing to do some sort of double take. His eyebrows furrowed and the corners of his mouth turned down for the briefest of seconds before it was gone. It was so quick, if I hadn't of been looking directly at him, I would have missed it. Identified, it could only be anger, pure and simple.

Then it hit me. If Jake was a werewolf, I could only guess what he'd smell off me. Vampire. Sweet to the extreme vampire.

Damn it.

Trying to cover up his realisation, Jacob started walking beside me. "So, what've you been up to today?" His voice was casual but I wasn't that stupid. I knew exactly what he wanted to know but then again, I didn't really have any reason to cover it up. Jacob would probably be perfectly aware of what Edward and his family were.

"Oh, just catching up with some friends." I began. He waited for more detail. I sighed, "I spent some time with Edward Cullen," I told him.

He nodded briefly. "That's right. I forgot you were involved with him," cool. There seemed to be a lot of that tone going around. An unusual twinge hit his voice on the word 'involved'.

"Yeah," I said briefly. Eager to move on to less argumentative things, I changed the subject. I wasn't in the mood to be fighting with both Jacob _and_ Edward. One was bad enough.

"I like the hair cut. It suits you, shows off your face." I said, gesturing to his scalp.

He grinned, "Does it now? It doesn't make me look boy bandish?" He teased. I laughed, shaking my head.

"Nope, not an ex-boy band member in sight." I clarified. He stopped, leaning over me to gaze at my hair. Gosh he was tall. I mean, I'd known he was supposed to be tall but reading about it and seeing it in person were too very different things.

"I see I'm not the only one with some hair changes, although I bet yours was done with a little bit more than a pair of kitchen scissors and a bathroom mirror." He said. "But I like it. If I hadn't seen you without the streaks, I would have thought it was natural."

I nodded, "I'll make sure to tell my hairdresser." The compliment brightened my outlook slightly. He'd been the first person to really give a positive definite opinion on my hair colouring. Usually people just said 'nice' or 'good'. Basically, the 'I really don't care but I don't want it to look like I didn't notice so I'll give you a one word adjective instead' response. It was at least better than Edward's non-answer.

He looked down at me, his eyes taking in my full appearance. "You look tired, Ash." Looking down, I shifted my weight uncomfortably. "School work, you know how it is. No big deal,"

"You been sleeping okay?" he asked.

I shrugged, "Fine." I lied. Keen to turn attention elsewhere, I threw his comments back at him. "You should talk." I reached out, tracing the dark circles under his eyes. "You look just about as exhausted as I do, maybe even more so."

He started walking again, his legs taking long strides almost double mine. "I'm fine," He brushed off the observation.

Feeling a sudden compulsion to speak freely, wanting him to know what I knew, I felt the urge to say something stupid. To somehow make him tell me his secret even though I knew he couldn't.

"Jake, is there…anything that you want to tell me?" I worded carefully.

He looked surprised. "Tell you? What do you mean?"

The light breeze blowed past my face, sending several stands of bleached hair swirling around my face. I brushed them away as I shrugged, "I don't know. Anything big that's happened to you while I've been gone? Any new friends or new….hobbies?" I tried again.

He picked up on the 'new friends' addition to the sentence. "Why do you ask?" I could sense the suspicion rising. Not wanting to agitate him, I dropped it.

"No reason, don't worry about it." I said quickly, picking up the pace. Jacob wasn't about to let the comment it go so easily. As I walked, the dirt pressed softly beneath my shoes. Clearly it had rained recently but then it was always raining here.

"Ashley, wait. Answer the question." I could hear the frustration building up. Being what he was, his temper was now on a shorter fuse than it had even been before. I didn't want to be the one to connect that fuse to the explosives. For one thing, I couldn't prove Edward right so soon after our debate.

"Let's just go inside, I think I can hear your dad calling us." At that I hurried past him and inside the house.

Over the next couple of hours, I refused to leave the group, trying to avoid giving Jacob another chance to bring the subject up again. I really should learn to shut my mouth.

Dinner was great, spaghetti and meatballs cooked to perfection. A little messy, I'll admit, but the company was just as good. It remembered why I'd always loved Seth as a character; he was ten times better in person.

Through the conversation, I sat, I laughed and I smiled. Yet, somehow, before I knew it the odd misplaced feeling from earlier that day at the sports shop had returned. The feeling like something was wrong. The odd emotion filled every limb in my body, forcing my eyes down towards the table top and an eerie numb outlook settling over everything around me.

Finally, Charlie stood from the table. "I think it's about time Ashley and I headed off," he said, pulling out his car keys.

Harry stood too. "Yeah, I'm with Charlie. Probably a good idea that we get going too. Thanks for dinner Billy," he said gratefully.

Billy shook his head, holding up a hand. "Nah, don't thank me. Thank Sue. She's the one who cooked everything."

"Well, thanks for letting her use your kitchen." He chuckled.

After several more goodbyes we began to make our way out of the house. On our leave, Jacob had come to hug me goodbye but noticing my resistance to touch his hot skin again, a weird look crossed his face.

Driving home from La Push, I ran through things in my head. It was clear to me that Jacob had started to pick up on what I may or may not know about his furry little secret. How things would turn out I had no clue. As far as I was concerned, the ball was in his court.

The only thing I could do was wait and see what he'd do with it.

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**A/N: So there you are, I'm back! Hope it was long enough for you. I've been sitting here for a quite a while writing it. I've gotten into the swing of things so the next chapter will probably be up soon. Think of it as my way of making up for going so long without posting. Remember to review and let me know your thoughts. : )**

_**Next Time on Return to Meyer: With painful conversations starting up in all areas a number of ambiguous visions rushing through Alice's head and Ashley beginning to doubt herself while murderers are still running freely around Washington, webs are starting to get tangled. And Fast. **_

_**Next Time…**_


	6. Synapses

**Disclaimer: Guy Andrew's Idea + Stephenie Meyer's concepts, location, characters etc. + a little revamping by me = Living in Meyer + Return to Meyer**

**A/N: Like I said, I'm on a roll at the moment and have quite a bit of spare time so the chapters should be coming quite quickly for a while. Hope I'm not overloading you but I'm really into this fic at the moment. As always, I'm apologetic for grammar and if you're a Jake lover, you'll probably enjoy this chap. Don't worry team Edward, he'll be back soon.**

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**Return to Meyer**

**6. Synapses**

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Ignoring the tiredness I could feel radiating from every inch of my body, I said goodnight to Charlie and began making my way up the stairs. I headed into the bathroom and poised in front of the mirror. Until now, I'd almost forgotten about my assortment of wounds left over from my short time with Victoria. I twisted my neck uncomfortably, feeling the scratches stretch painfully. It seemed as though Carlisle's pain medication was finally wearing off. That stuff sure was strong. Gazing at my face, I began to wonder why nobody had commented on it during dinner or my conversation with Mike and Jessica. Maybe they hadn't wanted to upset me or it had made them feel uncomfortable. Jake on the other hand, he I had no clue why he hadn't suddenly hit me with questions. Maybe he hadn't wanted to look suspiciously weird asking such morbid questions only a vampire or someone who kills them would want details on.

Suddenly, the bravado I'd been putting on most of the day fell away. My eyes narrowed, the dark tired circles becoming more prominent than before and my shoulders falling a few centimeters.

How could this be? How was this all real? As the questions began to pile up inside my brain, driving me crazier with every second, my thoughts were interrupted by a muffled noise. From what I could tell, it had come from down the hall. The only plausible explanation: My room.

Oh god, has Victoria come back to finish the job? I wondered in a panic. Or was it something worse? Who knew in this town? If it was Victoria, I didn't want her to hurt Charlie. That meant I would have to leave willingly and quietly. Even still, she might hurt him just to get revenge for what had happened last time we'd met. There was only one way to find out.

Leaving the bathroom, I padded slowly down the hall, pausing with my hand clasped on the doorknob. If Edward had known what I was doing, he would have lost it. Willingly putting myself at risk, it was crazy. Slowly I turned the knob and flung open the door. I blinked. The room was empty. It was just as I'd left it. Exhaling in relief, I took a step forward when out of nowhere the door shut behind me. I spun around and found myself face to face, for the second time that night, with Jacob.

"What in the…?" I almost yelled. He reached out rapidly, covering my mouth with his hand. His fingertips burned slightly as they touched my skin, my body adjusting to the temperature.

"Keep it down," He told me in a medium tone, "You'll bring Charlie in here," Oh right.

Lowering the volume, I voiced my previous question. "What in the world are you doing here?" He plunked himself down on the bed, his eyebrows furrowing. Clearly something was bothering him. While part of me was thinking back to a particular scene from New Moon. No matter how different things always seemed, somehow certain things always appeared to revert back to the original plot line. Jacob paying a visit to Bella's room at night after he becomes a werewolf, check.

"Jake?" I prodded, sitting down beside him. He looked up from his hands, eyeing me carefully.

"We never finished our earlier conversation." He told me.

I rolled my eyes. Great, here we go. "Yes, we did. I told you, compulsive talking. Ignore it." I reminded him.

He shook his head, persistent. "Nope, you're not getting out of this one, Ashley. I heard what you said. It wasn't just waffle. You had a point."

I stood up, "No, no point. Just wanted to catch up and you were a little warm. No big deal. Done, finished, finite." I scrambled over my words, backtracking. Stupid, stupid, stupid girl. You couldn't have just let it go? No…..you have to be all involved and I know your future. That's Alice's job, not yours you dumb lunatic.

Breaking through my drabble, Jacob said four words that shut me up instantly. "You know don't you." He said quietly. I looked down at him, watching the emotions flitter across his face. For a few moments there was complete silence. The only audible noise was that of the wildlife outside and the stifled snores of Charlie from down the hall. It was eerie and uncomfortable to the extreme.

Seeing no other way to respond to his claim, I said the only thing I could say. "Yes,"

He looked into my face in a flash of movement, shock registering on his face. It appeared that although he had had his suspicions about the extent of my knowledge, he hadn't really believed it to be true until I had confirmed it. He blinked, surprised. "How?" he asked.

I resumed my seat beside him, trying to find the best way to answer this question without verging into nutcase territory again. I'd been there with Edward once, and once was enough. Besides, I didn't even have any proof this time round. The last time I'd checked, all my Stephenie Meyer books were sitting happily on my shelf back home. Untouched for the last few months but still…..

"I can't tell you that," I replied.

"Why?"

I paused, "Because you wouldn't believe me even if I told you, as cliché as that sounds." I smiled.

He fidgeted awkwardly. "How much do you know?"

Hmmm…interesting question. "A lot, maybe even more about it than you do."

"How is that possible?" he asked, confused.

One side of my smile twitched upwards. "Can't tell you that either. It just is."

He looked away again, as though about to ask a vital question. One that he didn't want to see my answer when I gave it in case it was the one he didn't want. "And does it matter to you? What I am?"

I reached out, touching his face and forcing him to look at me. I gave him a reassuring smile before shaking my head. "Of course not, you're still you. I'll admit werewolves have a bit of a temper but normally I do too. So now we'll be even." He too froze for a moment at the use of the word werewolves. It was the first time we'd used the direct term in our conversation and it appeared that he found it a little bit on the surreal side. Then he grinned, happiness showing through in every inch of his face. "What? Did you really think I was going to kick you out on your butt? That I have some sort of allergy to overly large dogs?" The sarcasm came easily.

"I didn't know what to think. It's just that Sam forbid me from coming to discuss it with you." He looked a little more uncomfortable about this piece of information. I could see why.

"But you came anyway." I stated.

He nodded, "I had to know what you knew, but what I'd be able to say without being held back by Sam's orders, I didn't know. You made it pretty easy for me though." Again the cocky grin.

"Yeah? Make sure you tell me what Sam says when he finds out that you disobeyed him. Should make for some interesting entertainment and I could use a good laugh." I told him. He rolled his eyes at me, getting to his feet and standing in front of me.

"This is so…great." He exclaimed. "The last few weeks, they've been a little hard." His smile weakened at the memory. "But when I heard Billy say your name tonight, you have no idea how happy that made me. When you left before, you didn't even say goodbye." His face had completely fallen now.

How to work this? It wasn't like it had been my choice. There had been a sadistic vampire after me, a car accident in Bella's truck and then somehow we'd all ended up in my world. What was I supposed to do? Say, "Oh, excuse me Mr. James. I just need to go down to La Push and say goodbye to my friend Jacob who, by the way, in the near future will become a werewolf." Nah uh, I don't think so.

"I wanted to, things just got so crazy. But don't worry, next time I take off at a moment's notice, I'll make sure I stop by and say bye." I promised.

"Sounds good to me," he joked. All of sudden his face became serious again but this wasn't solemn serious this was business serious. He knelt down in front of me and even on his knees, was about the same height as me sitting on the bed. He reached up, his fingers lightly touching the bruise on my head before moving down to my neck where my neck wounds had been bandaged again after my shower. "Now that we're being open with each other," he began, moving away his hand. "What happened to your face and neck?"

I turned away from him, feeling disfigured and ashamed. "Vampire," I said softly.

An abrupt burst of rage crossed his face at the word. "I knew it." He said as a sneer appeared on his face. "It was _him_ wasn't it? Or one of those other leeches he lives with?" He assumed, hate ringing in every word. I looked up, my eyes wide.

"No, no! It wasn't Edward or any of the Cullens. It was another vampire." I explained rapidly throwing the blame where it was deserved. How could he think that Edward would ever do this to me? Never, never, never.

"Then who?" he asked urgently, his voice still tainted with fury.

Begrudgingly, I felt the memories from the other day coming to the surface. Bright red hair, scraping nails, every muscle screaming in pain in unison. "Her name is Victoria, she's kind of got it in for me, well…Edward actually. Last year, her mate James came after me…"

He cut me off, a relisation setting in. "That's why you left so fast."

I nodded, "Edward and his family tried to protect me but James got to me when they were…incapacitated." It seemed like the best way to describe Edward and Alice's dehydrated, starving, energy depleted human state. It chilled me to think of Edward the way he had been, stuck in a hospital bed with IVs protruding from his veins. So weak and helpless. "Edward managed to get there in time to make a long story short, he killed James. Now Victoria wants revenge, mate for mate apparently. She's the reason I'm back here actually, she found me back home and dragged me here." Things seemed so much clearer explaining them like this to Jacob. He sat quietly, listening but I could see the anger and need for action building with every word.

"The Cullens saved me but she disappeared and I haven't seen her since." I finished.

"When was this?" he asked quietly.

Could it have only been yesterday? Looking at the clock, I backtracked. Well, two days ago now. It felt longer probably because of the cross between worlds. I was still unaware of the difference in times between them. I _did _know that they were separated by a couple of months, as for time, no idea.

"Two days ago." He looked at me long and hard, he rose from his crouch, determination filling his eyes. I too stood up, watching him intently. "Jacob?"

He snapped back to reality. "The last day or so, our pack's been tracking a vampire through the forest. She just appeared out of nowhere, viscious from what we can tell. Red head." He described.

"That's Victoria." I confirmed.

He nodded. "There's also been other vampire activity in the area. We don't know who's behind it just yet but we will soon."

I thought back to the newspaper from yesterday morning. "You think that's who's killing those hikers?" I froze, a synapse firing. Oh god, how could I be so stupid? I'd only read these books _how _many times? Bouncing on the soles of my feet, I looked up at him excitedly. "Jake! I know who the vampire is. I've met him. His name is Laurent. He was travelling with James at that point in time but if memory serves me right, he'll be staying with a vampire clan in Alaska now. They're vegetarians like the Cullens," I ignored Jacob's scoff at the word vegetarians, "but Laurent finds their diet difficult so he comes down here to feed."

"They killings haven't been very close to town but they have been nearby. Alaska sounds perfectly possible, although I wouldn't put anything past these bloodsuckers." He frowned.

Again, another idea. "He probably hasn't been coming as close to town as he would have because the Cullens are still in Forks. With them here, it's still their territory. He wouldn't want to piss off a clan of seven vampires, especially ones with gifts like the Cullens." I said rapidly, thinking aloud.

Jacob picked up on the major term, "Gifts?" He questioned, an eyebrow raised.

Oh crap. No, not going there. "Damn it, I can't believe I didn't think of this before. It should have clicked the moment I saw that article yesterday. Obviously Edward missed it too. Then again, he doesn't know them like I do."

"_Them_?" Jacob echoed again, picking up every odd word he couldn't understand. And I wasn't about to tell him that when I said them, I meant the Twilight series novels. Things were confusing enough as it is without bringing them into it.

Seeing that he wasn't going to get any more useful information, let alone anything that made sense, from me, he walked towards the window. "Look, I've gotta go bring this up to Sam. He'll want to know."

"Yeah, I'll see you soon." Seeing me standing alone, he quickly rushed over again, sweeping me up into a crushing hug.

"Thanks Ash, you've been a big help." He said into my hair. He freed me, smiling down at me from his abnormal height. "We haven't known each other very long but for some reason I feel so close to you. For some reason, I sometimes feel like you know me better than a lot of people around here. How is that?" he asked part rhetorically, the other in actual curiosity.

"I'll tell you someday," I said with a smile. At this he headed back to the window and lifting the latch, swung out onto the nearby tree. I looked away, ready to busy myself with getting ready for bed when he called me back.

"Hey, Ash?" I looked out into the branches, cool air rushing through the window and filling the room. "Sorry bout the lamp." At this he loped through the leaves, a soft thud sounding from below as he hit the ground. At this, I turned to Bella's desk and then to the ground near it, beside the open window. Lying on the floor, looking a little mangled was a desk lamp.

Reaching for Alice's choice of pajamas, I chuckled loudly.

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**A/N: There you go, honesty is the best policy. Now they're all best buddies and Jacob can go all wolfy to find Laurent. Haha….we'll see. Anyway, review, review, review. I love reviews. They make me happy and then I write faster and of better quality. Hmmm…not so sure about the later but the former, for sure! Plus, I always love hearing your predictions or ideas for future chapters. And just so you know, I have a poll going on my profile where you can help me out in deciding the character's destination for this fic. Let me know. : ) **

_**Next Time on Return to Meyer: With crazy stuff going on in all corners, Ashley's beginning to wonder about the state of her sanity. What if everything she thinks is real is just a figment of her imagination? What if she's become the world's number one Twilight fan? **_

_**The one that creates their own world to support their delusion? **_

_**Next Time…**_


	7. Release

**A/N: Unlike the chapters before it, I actually spent quality time on this chapter. I edited, I thought and I tried to make it sound emotionally real. If there are any extra grammar errors, I apologize in advance. Fair warning, it's a little morbid but I think Ashley needed this realisation. It was a much needed. Hopefully I don't depress everyone too much. And yes, it's quite short and very soon after my last chapter. Don't worry, I'll hold off for a while on the next chap. I wouldn't want to overload you all.**

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**Return to Meyer**

**7. Release**

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I remained at Charlie's over the next couple of days. The house was silent apart from Charlie's comings and goings but in some ways I found the seclusion reassuring. Bella's room was my place of solace. It wasn't somewhere I had to pretend that everything was alright. There were no fake smiles or people to convince I was okay, just me and the stack of books on my bedside table. And before long, without even realising, it had become my prison.

I had not heard from Jacob or Edward for days now. Jacob was obviously busy, Edward possibly still angry or giving me some space. Who knew? Although, being in the emotional state I was in, I found myself feeling something different. It was worse than anger or sadness. Apathy. I couldn't find it within myself to care. Besides, would they want to see me this way? This completely defeated?

After my talk with Jacob, the momentary feeling of happiness I'd felt in his presence had since passed, receding within me even further than before. I was unsure as to whether Charlie had noticed my dampening spirits but if he had, he kept silent on the subject. The only time we spent together was meal times, the solitary times of the day I retreated from my room. That, and the small periods of time I spent walking through the bush close to the house. Vampire attacks be dammed. Nobody was going to touch me this close to the centre of town anyway.

Over my time alone, I became quite grateful towards Alice and her shopping expertise. It appeared that she had thought of everything I'd need or want, ranging from clothes and toiletries to books and a hair straighter. Alice, herself, had checked in with me once or twice during the week but only for brief talks. I had the feeling that she was attempting to avoid someone at home but for once, I minded my own business.

Usually her visits were filled with denied accusations and questions about how I was feeling. But as forcefully as I kept up my bright act, I could tell that she was nowhere near the point of believing it. The rest of the time our conversations revolved around a set of strange visions she'd been having recently. She believed that they were important but had yet to work out what they meant. I could feel her frustration from across the room, making me wonder just how Jasper was taking it with his particular abilities. It was after a particularly heated discussion that, later that same night, the impact of my state of mind finally hit me in complete and utter relentless force.

*** ***** **

Curling up under the bed linen, I glanced momentarily at the small alarm clock positioned on the bedside table. A set of bright red, block numbers stared back at me. They were the only light in the now darkened bedroom aside from the moonlight. The pale, silvery rays, hit the floor, changing shape as the trees outside blew in the breeze.

2:18 am. It was late and by the heaviness of my eyelids, my body could feel it. Yet, despite this, a part of my brain refused to let me simply lay my head on Charlie's freshly washed pillowcase and fall asleep. Of course not, that would have been too easy.

After occupying my foggy mind for a few minutes by merely watching the shadows on the walls change shape with each gust of wind, I rolled over under the covers and reached out to feel through the darkness for the switch on the lamp. It had been lucky that Jacob had broken the desk lamp on his rather unorthodox entry to my pseudo bedroom rather than the bedside lamp. Otherwise, I would have been at a major loss over the past week. Sleep, let alone dreamless sleep, had been hard to come by. Charlie, to my relief, had resisted asking why he'd need to replace the lamp bulb and settled for saying he'd pick up one when he got the chance. The last thing I wanted to do was to have to explain to him that I had strange boys climbing in and out of the window during the early hours of the morning. Well, that is if you could call Jacob strange.

Once my fingers began tracing the familiar edges of the switch, I flipped it, creating a pool of golden light across the room. Normally, I wasn't one for closing my bedroom door while I slept but tonight I had been compelled to shut myself off from the rest of the house. Clearly, I had chosen wisely. I wouldn't have wanted the light to reflect off the floor and continue shining down the rest of the upstairs hallway. Somehow the sudden burst of light seemed to make the little bedroom feel even smaller and more isolated.

Sitting up and slowly raising my legs to my chest, I crossed my arms and laid them on top of the skin that would have been my knees had they not been covered by layers of blanket padding. The room was so silent I could hear my heart pounding beneath my chest and the sounds of my rising and falling chest against the mountain of bedclothes. The mass of unanswered questions from earlier this week began to rise to the surface of my mind again, filing it and sending me reeling into a fit of confusion and panic.

Alice's voice broke through my confusion, echoing her advice from earlier. "Ashley, you're human. It's okay to _feel _human. You're not like us. I can see what this is doing to you and you need to deal with it. Sooner or later it's going to build up and you won't be able to avoid it any longer." Seeing my expression, she'd then moved on to making another comment about Jacob's scent and its apparent resistance to leave my room completely.

The uncertainty returned, why was I here? What was going on? Was this world of death and destruction even real? Or was it simply just the creation in the mind of a deluded and seriously confused fanatic?

Double dimensional doors, vampires, werewolves, missing hikers….it wasn't possible.

These were things that belonged in films and novels. They were Bella's world. Not mine. So what was I doing in a place I clearly didn't belong in? This wasn't just weird. It was insane.

Images of James grabbing me, kicking me and wounding me filled my mind. These were followed by Victoria almost ripping my throat out and then to that day many months ago where I had almost been raped in an alleyway in Port Angeles. Moments of my life full of terror, of inferiority. They were all horrible memories. Events that had happened since I had come _here_.

The feeling in my chest from yesterday had returned along with the ocean of self doubt. It wasn't sadness, it was feeling like something had wrongly been cut out of somewhere and replaced by something else. By _someone_. Someone who didn't belong. I had replaced Bella in the story that was supposed to be her life. And where was she? She was living with her mother in sunny Jacksonville, trying to forget about the mixed up world she had been briefly dragged into. She wasn't even here, had technically never even lived the events I'd always thought her to have. Yet, somehow I felt as though I could never live up to her. This resistant, strong and responsible person, I couldn't do it.

Thinking back to the two months I had spent at home before returning to this...mixed up delusion, I realised that as much as I didn't belong in Forks, I now no longer fit in the place I was supposed to be. Disappointed parents, unspoken to friends and a diminishing school studies report…things were as bad there as they were here. So where did I fit in? Where did I go from here? What did I really want? I had separated myself from the one thing in the world that I wanted more than anything else in order to keep a story that no longer existed on track. I was no martyr. So why had I done what I did?

Feeling the misery setting in and a sudden anger at myself take hold, I stopped holding back the tears that had been trying to fall for weeks, maybe even months. The burst of emotion that showed just how insecure and lost I felt in a world that was too big and complicated for a sixteen year old girl. The water prickled as it hit my skin. Running slowly down my cheek, the droplets clung to the bottom of my chin, resisting the fall to the sheets where they would quickly break. Not wanting to be seen at my moment of total and unreserved breakdown, I reached out and again switched off the light. Finally the greatest of the waves hit me and I couldn't stop the loud and painful sobs from echoing around the quiet room.

As though he had heard me calling, a figure reached out. Cool and smooth skin, wrapped itself around my fingers, lifting me from my bed and leading me towards the rocking chair in the corner of the room. Here, Edward enfolded me in his arms, brushed the tears away and held me tightly until the pain eased.

For the first time since those horrible instances, I had realised that I was not okay. Alice had been right, I couldn't avoid it. I wasn't resilient Bella, able to block out every horrible detail and move on with her life. I was me, Ashley.

It wasn't wrong to feel afraid and violated. Feeling was important. It was human.

At long last, I had woken up.

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**A/N: Like I said, the chapter was a little on the miserable side but much needed. The character had begun to lack something and this was it. I've found that most of the character's I've read about, bad things happen to them a lot but after a short outburst (maybe not even that), they just move on, it's never brought up again. Ashley's a real person. Not a wooden board. Not a vampire. She feels and needed to deal with what had happened in the previous story. Guess what that means? It's time to go back to the writing that I like. In some ways, this chapter was also a wakeup call for me. I'm not sure if you've noticed but this time around, my writing's been missing something just as Ashley's personality has. After watching the Twilight film last night, I was reminded of the things I love about the series. It's time I brought them back into my writing. Hopefully things have now changed and for the better and I can get this story back to a similar level as Living in Meyer. So without further ado, **

_**Next Time on Return to Meyer: Feeling rejuvenated and for the first time in a while, actually happy, it's time for Ashley to begin to enjoy the world of her books again. Sure, the weather's a little dreary, Jacob and the wolf pack are hunting Victoria who is still after revenge and Alice is becoming more aggravated by her confusing visions, but Ashley refuses to let her spirits be dampened. Well….at least for now.**_

_**Next Time….**_


	8. Pancakes

**Disclaimer: Guy Andrews for Lost in Austen, Stephenie Meyer for all things Twilight, add this together with a little bit of help from me and you get Living in Meyer as well as its sequel Return to Meyer.**

**A/N: Like I said last chapter, I'm trying to return to my original writing. So, why not start with some light hearted romance? The middle is a little meaningless but the idea came to me and I just had to use it. Anyway, after next chapter, I should be getting back into some more serious stuff so enjoy the fluff while it lasts. :) Anyway, Enjoy.**

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**Return to Meyer**

**8. Pancakes**

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Opening my eyes, I blinked in the appearance of the faded light. Had I been at home, I would never have even thought of classifying the present weather as sunny but here, it was as close to sunlight as you were going to get. By the perspective of the room I had, I'd been returned to my bed. As agonizing and long as last night's outburst had been, somehow I felt rejuvenated. For the first time in a while, I felt as though I were seeing things more clearly. Better.

Sitting up carefully, I arched my back and stretched the muscles. My hair felt messed and my clips as though they were coming out of my usually pinned back fringe. Blinking, Edward's form came into view. He sat comfortably in the old rocking chair he had held me in last night. As usual, he was watching me intently, an odd expression contorting his features. It looked as though he was waiting to see if the bomb he'd thought he'd disarmed would remain intact or explode anyway despite his efforts.

After what he'd done for me last night, I was at a loss for words. How was I supposed to explain it? Would he want me to? I wasn't sure. Deciding that maybe it was time I put these troubling events behind me at last, I threw back the covers and got to my feet. Giving him a weak smile, I found my voice. "I'll be right back," At this I padded down the hallway until I reached the bathroom. Glancing at my image in the mirror, I smiled. Somehow the circles under my eyes seemed weaker and my stare less hard. To top it all off, my eyes smiled with me. This was a real show of emotion, not just the masking substitute I'd worn for so long. I was me.

Quickly running a brush through my hair and fixing my fringe, I checked my wrist. According to my watch it was just past ten-thirty. Known for being an early riser, getting up at times like these on rare occasions always manage to shock me. Charlie would have left the house hours ago. Shrugging, I remembered Edward back in the bedroom. Deciding to be safe rather than sorry, I gave my teeth a quick brush and then departed. There was nothing worse than talking with someone with bad breath.

He hadn't moved. That much was clear. I padded in quietly, my cow print pyjamas rustling slightly against each other with every step. He looked up, the same strained expression on his face. I raised an eyebrow, smiling. "It's okay, Edward. You can relax." I told him. He remained still, frozen in place. I'd once had a theory that if you placed Edward in a wax museum and asked him to stay still nobody would be the wiser. It's not like he has to breathe.

Seeing his resistance to believe me, I took a chance. Walking forwards, I moved towards the place I most wanted to be. With him.

His relief was evident from the moment he touched me. Holding me close to his chest, I inhaled, taking in his scent and snuggling into him. Feeling content, I sighed. "I'm so sorry," he whispered into my hair, his hands tightening around me at the words. "I knew there was something wrong, but until Alice told me, I had no idea just how deeply the wounds ran. I should have known. I should have come sooner." His agony was clear but I wasn't about to let him cover himself in a whole new lot of guilt for something he'd had no control over. It was safe to say, if it had not been for him, the events that had caused me such distress would have been ten times worse.

I raised my head and with wide eyes, my natural smile returned to my face for the second time that morning. Edward's eyes softened as he saw my expression. "No, you shouldn't have." I began, reaching up to stroke his cheek. It was as cool and smooth as usual but somehow reassuring in what I was going to try and tell him.

"I always assumed that the reason I was so down was because I was missing you and I was, but it was more than that." I took a deep breath, trying to find the right words to describe my previous state of mind. "After reading Stephenie Meyer's books so many times, I saw as Bella went through trauma after trauma without ever really suffering any after affects. She just accepted it and moved on." Edward nodded, understanding what I was trying to say perfectly.

"The only problem was that, I'm not Bella. I may have filled her role in some ways once she ended up in my world but I'm not her. I don't bounce back like a rubber band. If I had to describe it, I say that everything built up until last night when it sort of just….let loose." Recollecting Alice's words of warning, I laughed. "Alice was right as usual." I joked. Edward's face fell, clearly not in the mood for teasing. He looked away.

Moving back to the serious side of our discussion, I went on. "But, that's what I needed. Now, to be honest, I feel happy. It's been a while but now I feel how I felt when I first started spending time with you." I remembered back to my first trip to Forks. The magical feeling I'd experienced, the…_bliss_ at spending time with him. "It's like that epiphany Angel had in Season two. It feels good. _I _feel good." I emphasised, lifting my fingers to his face and forcing his eyes back to mine again. Like my prod about Alice, he seemed to have ignored my sudden reference to Angel and pop culture.

His eyes lingered over my lips, staring at them thoughtfully as his took in my newly expressed information. It felt nice being this close to him again, without the emotional road blocks I'd had set up. Even when he had touched me last week (the _only _time he had touched me since my return, I hadn't even had as little as a brush of the skin since) as much as I had lied to myself, it hadn't felt the same. Now, here I was and all I wanted was to stay in this chair with him forever.

"I've missed that smile." He said quietly. "When I saw you in on the couch in my room, you looked happy but it felt….wrong. I couldn't place the emotions I was experiencing at the time. I just assumed that you were fatigued and sore from your injuries. "

"No biggie," I shrugged, happy to be able to move so easily without strain. My wounds were healing well and I was glad for it. So did Edward by the look of him, I didn't comment on his quick mental check of my wounds as his eyes darted across my body so quickly I wasn't unsure I'd imagined it.

He paused, carefully thinking out what he wanted to say. "I also wanted to apologize," he began. "For what happened the other day." I thought back to our argument. "I was rude and it was inexcusable."

I shook my head, "Edward, you don't have to apologize. Trust me. I was being silly and stubborn. I mean, what I said to you…." I looked away, ashamed. "I shouldn't have said it. You and Jacob are both in completely different situations and I should have known better." It hurt my pride to say it but it was true. What I had said was low and I needed to let him know that. "Can we not talk about this anymore? I don't want to argue."

He smiled. Slowly, his fingers reached up, stroking my hair in a way that was familiar to me. Each touch sent shivers down my spine and my heart racing. "Edward," I said softly, not taking my eyes off him for the irrational fear that he would disappear. He made a small sound of acknowledgement but continued focusing on my streaked waves. "I love you. I know I don't say it often, but I do." Looking at me in a way I hadn't seen in a long time, he leaned in before slowly touching his lips softly to my forehead.

"I know," he whispered. "But it's nothing compared to how much I love you. Remember that." I teasing edge filled his voice. "You could leave me, argue with me, make a number of strange vampire pop culture references and I would still love you."

I grinned, "You picked up on that did you?"

He frowned, "It was an awful show. I loathed it," He admitted. "Although, Emmett surprisingly enjoyed it,"

I laughed, "Remind me to bring my box set next time I come to visit. Emmett and I'll have a marathon." I'd been more than just Twilight obsessed before entering this bizarre world. As far as TV shows went, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and it's spin off Angel were two of my favourite shows and I'd since completely stocked up on the DVDs in my cupboard back home. But the very idea that they existed in this world, let alone that Emmett enjoyed them, was surprising. Hearing my stomach growl, I sat up. "But as for now, I am going to cook breakfast!" I said cheerfully. He let me go, following me downstairs to the kitchen.

I stood on the tiles, surveying the room thoughtfully. What in the world did I want? More to the point, what did Charlie have? He'd never been one for the whole grocery shopping thing. Well, nothing beyond the necessities. For the majority of the last week or so, I'd been living purely off cereal and rather boring cereal at that until I'd forced myself to leave my room and take a trip to pick up some things.

"Ashley?" Edward interrupted my musings. Looking up, I found him staring down at me unsurely. "Did you say you were going to _cook _breakfast?" I nodded. "Forgive me if your cooking skills have since improved past scrambled eggs and pasta but, the last time you were here, your idea of constructing breakfast included a bowl of cereal."

A scowl appeared on my face before quickly dissipating as I realised he was right. The kitchen was not my arena. What would the housewives of the 50's and 60's have said if they could see me now? Ignoring his comment, I began foraging through the pantry before pulling out a bottle. "Ah ha!" Edward looked less enthusiastic and more concerned at my sudden outburst. "I am going to make pancakes." I announced. The anxious look deepened at the sight of the pancake mix. Oh well, I thought. He'd see soon enough.

I set up the pan, butter and spatula before getting started on what I hoped was going to be an alright finished product. Edward stood silently, watching as I poured and waited. Finally after a few minutes, I picked up a spatula ready to remove the fresh and a little demented looking pancake.

Prodding and pushing rapidly until I ended up with a deep brown, twisted and shrivelled shape on the platter next to me, I sighed. A low chuckle sounded at my efforts from behind me. I threw down the spatula and spun around. "Okay, fine. Maybe I can't make pancakes but it's not like you can do any better." I threw out in frustration. He raised a brow and walked towards me.

"Dark or pale?" He asked suddenly. I stared at him blankly for a moment before I realised what he meant. He had to be joking.

"No, _no_ way. You're seriously going to try and make me pancakes?" He nodded before picking up the spatula and moving towards the pan. He looked dead serious. My almost a century year old, vampire boyfriend was going to make me pancakes. My vampire boyfriend who doesn't eat. This I had to see.

"Pale," I told him. Come on, there's no way he can do this. I mean, Edward's good at a lot of things but he doesn't cook. He can't.

Sitting down at the kitchen table I watched as he casually read through the back of the mix bottle before discarding it. Clearly he wasn't happy with what was in it. I hadn't bothered to check but a whole heap of sugar was my guess. I was about to make a comment before he began rushing around the kitchen in movements so quick they were almost complete blurs. All of a sudden there was a mixing bowl, spoon, flour and several other pantry items on the bench. Before I knew it, Edward had a bowl full of pancake mix made from scratch.

You have got to be kidding me, I thought to myself.

Although the prep process had been faster than the average human, there was no speeding up the actual cooking. Edward stood around impatiently, waiting for each side to finish before gracefully flipping the finished pancake off the pan and onto a plate. I grinned at the range of expressions he wore while he worked. If what he made wasn't of eatable quality, watching him make it would have been worth it in itself. After a few minutes, I was presented with a plate covered with three large, fluffy, almost restaurant quality pancakes.

He gave me a sly smile, "Syrup?" He asked with a proud edge to his voice. I nodded, stunned. Quickly he covered the plate in an intricate design of maple syrup before handing me a knife and fork to finish the job. I looked at him in silence, the blank look returning. "Juice?" he queried again. A glass full of apple juice soon followed. Finally, he sat down across from me, folding his arms and a large smirk forming across his face.

"H-h-how?" I stammered. "You don't even eat! How in the world do you know how to make pancakes?" I questioned.

"Ashley," he said rolling his eyes and leaning forward. "I've been alive a long time and have seen a number of cooking shows. I'll admit I've never had to put that knowledge into practice but that doesn't mean it's not there." He explained.

Oh crap, I thought suddenly as I remembered a section of book one from Breaking Dawn. While on their honeymoon, Edward had cooked for Bella multiple times and at a number of times during the day. Of course he could cook! How could I have forgotten something like that?

"You know what," I said, throwing my hands up in the air. "You're perfect." I admitted.

He leant back in his seat again, giving me the 'You're being ridiculous' look. Eager to stray away from the topic of his almost perfection, he sighed. "Ashley, just eat." He told me softly. The pancakes were fantastic but knowing Edward, how could I have ever thought otherwise?

He walked around the house while I ate, remembering how uncomfortable it made me feel to have someone watching me when I was shovelling food in at alarming rates. I was grateful for that. Once I'd finished, he took my plate, telling me simply to go get dressed while he cleaned up. I was starting to get the feeling that he was spoiling me more than usual. Maybe he hadn't understood our previous conversation as well as I'd thought or maybe he was feeling guiltier than he'd let on. Either way, it was not a good thing.

Once I'd returned to my room, I found myself staring out the window. The street was quiet and empty, the sunlight having strengthened since I'd first awoken. It seemed that this was going to be a day for Edward to stay away from ordinary people, well, that is, unless he wanted an unpleasant visit from the Voltori. My happy mood still in full force, I dressed in another one of Alice's personally picked spring dresses, sky blue this time with a ribbon around the waist. I straightened my hair, fastened my gift from Edward around my neck and applied a small amount of make-up before agreeing I looked presentable enough. Then again, I didn't have a clue as to what I was going to be doing.

Edward was already waiting for me downstairs by the time I'd finished up. Sometimes I wondered about him, there was times when he was the most patient person in the world and other, like when he was cooking pancakes, where everything seemed to frustrate him.

The corners of his mouth twitched up as he caught sight of me and his eyes widened ever so slightly. Up until now, I hadn't noticed just how gold they were. He'd obviously fed very recently and in a large amount. "So," I said proactively. "Where are we heading off to today?"

"Hmm…." He said thoughtfully as he reached out, his fingers touching the small diamond heart at my throat. I watched as the sides shone it the light, thanking whatever power there was that Victoria hadn't damaged it when she'd swiped at me. I loved this piece of jewellery and had worn it almost every day since Edward had given it to me. Celebrating my birthday in Bella's room with Edward, dressed up by Alice, had been one of the best and worst days of life. Spending those precious moments with him and then having to leave, it had been amazing and unbearable at the same time.

"As you can see, the weather is nice. So, I was thinking we could visit our meadow." He suggested. I felt a small thrill rush through me at his use of "our" meadow. I nodded in agreement; there was nothing I wanted more. Besides, it was a beautiful day for it. One of those rare ones where the sun shone.

Days that should be made the most of. While you can.

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**A/N: There you go, as usual, please review. Remember how much I love feedback. :)**

_**Next Time on Return to Meyer: Edward and Ashley return to the Meadow for some time in the sun away from the residents of Forks but what will Edward do when conversation turns serious and Ashley tells him just who is behind the latest set of vampire attacks around Washington? **_

_**Next Time.**_


	9. Heartbeat

**Disclaimer: Twilight related = Stephenie Meyer, Lost in Austen related = Guy Andrews. Thank you, you wonderful people!**

**A/N: Hey guys, here's the new chapter. Sorry, I've been kind of busy lately starting year 12, my final year of high school...*cringes* Anyway, I decided to spend my Sunday afternoon writing this. As usual, sorry about the lack of proper grammar or structure because I'm lazy. As for the chapter itself, I thought it was about time we had some A + E romance. Here you go! Enjoy!**

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**Return to Meyer**

**9. Heartbeat**

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This place had always had this effect on me. Whether I was reading about it or standing directly in the centre of it, Edward's meadow always gave me a strange sense of peace. It was like the setting for a scene in a romanticism period novel. It was as though, even as bad as things could seem outside, here there it was like being inside a bubble. A sense of fantasy, as though you didn't belong in the rest of reality.

I walked out into the sunlight, half closing my eyes and smiling as the rays hit each of my eyelashes, forming small balls of light at the end of each strand. Not worrying about covering my dress in grass stains, I fell back into the green and folded my arms behind my head as I stared up at the clouds in the sky.

"I've often tried to find shape amongst the mess of vast white shapes as many humans do." Edward said from beside me. I flinched at the sound of his voice, realising I hadn't even known he'd joined me.

"How'd it turn out?" I asked, curiously.

I could almost hear the frown in his voice, "Not well, I'll admit. I'm afraid it doesn't hold my attention as well as other recreational activities do."

I smiled, "Oh well. You can't be interested in everything." I paused. "I've never been great at it either. Usually I last a few seconds before I give up and go do something else or I've chosen to do it because I'm stuck in some form of transport it's the only thing I _can_ do."

"You've never been one for activities that take up a great deal of your time." He stated.

I sat up, giving him a look. He remained fixed on the sky above us. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You get bored quite quickly, admit that much is true."

I frowned, "Well, I read books and other stuff like that. And that takes me _hours_." I pointed out smugly. Usually fewer hours than most people I know, but anyway…

He smirked, "You rush through novels. Sometimes I doubt you even take in half the words you see on the page."

My jaw dropped, "That's not true! I do _so_ understand what I'm reading, well, except for the odd word that I'm too lazy to look up in the dictionary." And _Deltora Quest_ which I kind of drift in and out of focusing on at the usually the vital parts of the story. Probably best not to bring that up, it wouldn't do much to support my argument,

Edward rolled his eyes before joining me in the sitting position. The thing was that while my body arrangement looked odd and uncomfortable, his was the picture of ease. Then he grinned, his pale skin glistening brightly in the sunshine.

"Gosh, you're so annoying," I cried, giving him a mock push in the arm. He chuckled.

He nodded, "I'm sorry, but your reactions amuse me. You're so quick to take offense." He reached out, brushing away a few loose strands of hair which had began to fall into my eyes.

"What can I say? I'm a proud person."

"Oh, I don't doubt that." His smiled deepened, as though enjoying his own private joke. I raised an eyebrow in question. "We make an interesting pair." He offered as his only explanation.

Then his eyes zeroed in on my forearm. Delicately, he reached out and held it up, examining it as the smile slowly faded. Still, he didn't appear to be too worried. "What happened here?" he asked casually but I could tell how frustrated he would be if I were to refuse to answer. But wasn't that the way Edward was with most questions he asked? He liked to be in the know.

I shrugged. "I sort of walked into the banister on the staircase yesterday morning. Not a big deal." He sighed, used to my clumsiness. I probably should avoid telling him about the plate I broke the other day, I noted mentally.

"Ashley…" he began. I cut him off.

"Like I said, it's no biggie. I drop things and bang into stuff all the time. You know that," I reminded him. Hmm…and then there was that incident with the blue food colouring all over the kitchen floor that ended up dying the soles of my feet for the next week. Probably should keep that to myself too.

"You really do need to be more careful." He told me.

I shot him a reassuring smile before starting to fiddle with the grass on the ground beside me. It had been a habit of mine whenever I sat near it. Even when I wasn't supposed to, I always found myself ripping up grass strands and leaving them there to cover it up.

Appearing to have dropped the subject, I looked up as he returned to his lounging position on the greenery. Feeling the sudden to urge to do something I probably shouldn't, I leaned over him. His eyes were shut, his features relaxed. Slowly, I lowered myself down. I wasn't trying to hide anything. I knew that he was perfectly aware of how close I was to him.

"Ashley," he said softly in warning, his eyes still shut.

"Nope, no excuses. You've been with me since early last night. You're desensitised."

At this statement, his eyes flickered open and he turned his head away. "No, I'm not." He replied, softly. I raised an eyebrow as I moved away from him, rejection flooding through me like wildfire. I resisted the urge to cringe away. "Oh?" It was the only form of a reply I could manage without letting my emotions run wild.

"I left." He said, sitting up again. "Once I was sure you were deeply asleep, I slipped out to hunt. I've been locked up in my room for a couple of days and being so close to you after that time, it was….difficult." He looked up, his eyes trying to hold mine but failing as my wounded pride consistently got in the way.

I could hardly blame him. He's a vampire, he needs to hunt. I mentally told myself off, acting as a reminder that a full and golden eyed Edward was much more free and fun to cuddle up with than a hungry, darkened gazed one. Still, I couldn't help but feel a little bummed.

Glancing downward, I rethought. I hadn't of been paying much attention to his clothes when I'd been completely saturating them in my tears but now that I thought about it, it wasn't surprising that he'd gone home to change.

"Right, well, no problem," I looked away from him completely, letting the negativity wash over me but afraid to show it.

"Ashley, love, you know how much I want to but let me work up to it first, alright?" I glanced upwards at his words and before I knew it, I was nodding my head. It's the smile, I reasoned. He could ask me to jump off a cliff and I probably would if he were wearing that damn smile. Not that he'd ever ask me to do anything so ridiculous.

Then the idea occurred to me. Of course, there were a lot of problems that could arise, a whole heap of questions involved but if it worked the way I hoped it would, he wouldn't have to 'work up' to anything. Quickly, I got to my feet and began walking towards a covering of trees. I heard Edward's voice behind me, calling my name, but I refused to turn around. "Hold on, I just want to try something." I called back.

I pressed onward until I found it, an arrangement of branches and trees that we'd passed on our way in. They curved together in a mess of brown, green and leaves to form a shape. If you were to walk through it, it would feel just like a doorway. Positioning myself directly in front of it, I closed my eyes, fists clenched by my sides.

"Ashley?" Edward questioned, from beside me. I blocked him out, trying to focus all of my will and intentions into the one task. Kind of hard, considering how unfocused I can be sometimes. Suddenly, from beside me, I heard a deep intake of breath. That was when I knew I'd accomplished it.

Standing before us, through the nature built doorframe, was a field of green. A park to be precise. One I'd visited quite a few times since I'd moved into the area nearby. Down the slope of the grassy hill was a pond and to both sides of the scene were a familiar set of trees. All in all, it was quite a nice area to sit down and relax. Plus, Sydney appeared to be getting an even larger amount of sun than whatever it was Forks was experiencing.

Without hesitation, I stepped forward through the gap and out onto the new patch of green. The sunlight hit me in the eyes, as I breathed in the new smells. Turning on my heel, I faced Edward who, by this point, looked like a cross between apprehensive and downright shocked. I gave him a wide smile, before holding out my hand. He stared at it blankly and unmoving.

"Edward, trust me." I told him.

He flinched, "You remember what happened last time I crossed from my world into yours. I was exhausted, dehydrated and spent days in hospital. Something I haven't done since nineteen-eighteen." He explained, his voice cool.

I nodded, "I remember. But I think it'll be different this time."

"How so?"

Now here was the part I wasn't sure about. I just hoped I could get him to take a leap of faith on this one.

"Last time you came through, you hadn't fed in days, in over a week as far as I remember." He nodded, following me so far. "A normal human being can't survive without water after approximately three days and food for about two weeks but then again, even those who are use to eating at regular intervals can feel weak after a day or two without proper meals. I've seen it when my friends participate in the forty hour famine." I paused, seeing his perplexed expression. Realising I was getting off track, I regained my original train of thought.

"Anyway, when you crossed through, I'm guessing it carried your energy levels through the barrier. But the thing is, unlike vampires, humans can't live without sustenance for days on end and blood serves as both forms for your kind. No wonder you were in need of a hospital drip. I'm surprised you didn't just drop then and there." I explained rapidly.

One side of his mouth lifted in a sort of sardonic smile. "If you look back on it, you'll find that I did _drop then and there_." He voice sounded odd using my modern and colloquial turn of phrase.

"So, this time will be different. You fed only a couple of hours ago. That's perfectly fine as far as human meals go." I held out my hand again, urging him forward. Seeing his immobility, I sighed. "Edward, I'm pretty sure about this. You'll just have to trust me."

I could see his resistance weakening. For a final blow, I added: "_Please_," It was the one word he always found so hard to deny and this fact was written clearly all over his face.

He opened his mouth, his words taking another tone. "And what if you're wrong?"

Good question. Yes Ashley, what if?

"I'll have you back through that barrier before you can say 'I told you so'." I said with mock confidence.

He looked down at my outstretched fingers, an argument going on in full force inside his head. Was it worth risking his health just so that he could spend a couple of hours in the sun, as a human being with the one he loved? Or should he stick with what he knew?

After what felt like forever, I sighed again before beginning to slowly lower my hand. I should have known better than to be so selfish. Putting Edward at risk like this when he had no reason to be was wrong and I should have known better. As these thoughts raced around inside my head, all of a sudden I felt Edward's cool, slender fingers grasp mine. My eyes widened as I watched him walk through the barrier to join me, his body exuding confidence.

I stepped back, dropping his hand as he took several more steps forward and he stopped. I could tell that he was waiting for a wave of nausea or something worse to hit him but from the look on his face, the fear was unnecessary. He blinked back at me, his green eyes taking in every inch of his surroundings. I'd never get use to seeing him like this. He was human, but yet, so much more.

Feeling the need to break the dramatics of the moment, I cleared my throat. "See? I told you it'd all work out."

Edward looked up, his bronze hair shining in the sun unlike his skin which unusually, didn't glitter. But that was to be expected. Only vampires had glittery skin in the sunlight. The sight was particularly odd to my eyes which were familiarized with Edward's diamond like appearance.

"I don't think I'll ever become accustomed to this feeling." He said softly, a frown on his lips.

"What's it feel like? I asked curiously.

He smiled now, "Similar to how I'd imagine being put through a load in a washing machine would feel."

I laughed, "You've never tried that? I thought everyone had." I teased jokingly. When I was a kid, I remembered hiding inside the main space of the washing machine. It was silvery, echoed and made a great hide-and-seek hiding location. Then came the days when I became too big to fit through its door.

"Hmm…" he said thoughtfully, "Emmett tried it with Alice once."

"What happened?"

He chuckled at the memory, "He failed and then suffered the consequences for trying over the next six months. It was very amusing." I could only imagine.

He turned his attention to other matters, "If you don't mind me asking, where are we?" he asked, walking forward as he looked around.

I shrugged. "It's just some park near my house. It's probably a weekday which is why it's so deserted. I come here at Christmas time for the carols run by our local church." I paused. "I'll admit, it's not as nice as your meadow back in Forks but hey, this is as close to it as we Sydney city siders have got."

He shook his head, "Not to worry. It seems quite peaceful from where I'm standing."

I shifted my weight from one foot back to the other, a question burning at the edge of my lips. Edward gave me a look and then moved towards me, seeing my internal deliberation. "What's wrong?"

"Errrmm…can I ask you a question?" Besides the one I'm asking now, that is.  
He smiled at me reassuringly. "You can ask me anything, you know that."

"This is going to sound extremely weird but I was wondering…" He nodded in encouragement, now more curious than ever to know what it was I wanted to ask so much. "Can you still smell me? I mean, are you attracted by my blood?" The words were blurted and sounded blurred at the speed but this didn't stop Edward from understanding them, His ears familiar with my normal talking speed.

He shook his head. "My senses are a lot more limited than what they were a few moments ago and no, you don't hold the same interest for me in that particular area as you once did."

"Oh," I said, looking away, feeling a sudden sadness wash over me. Seeing my unhappiness, Edward widened his eyes in alarm. "So, I'm guessing things have…." I struggled with the last word, "_changed._"

Edward nodded silently. "Yes," Hearing this seemed to make everything a lot more real. How could I have ever been so stupid? Of course it made a difference. How could I not have realised that part of the reason he'd liked me was because of the way I smelled. That sweet scent he'd described to me before. Now it was gone, what was left?

Just me. Plain, old, clumsy, book loving, stubborn me.

This was not how I'd expected things to play out but then again, who'd I been kidding. The real life girl ending up with the character girls around the world would die to spend five minutes with. Sure, like that would ever happen.

"Ashley, now that I think about it, when I was here last, we didn't have much in the way of physical contact did we?" I felt myself taken aback at his words, my face slipping into an expression of confusion and shock.

Before I could stop myself, I blurted out the word echoing its way through my foggy brain. "_Huh_?"

"I guess it was because we were occupied dealing with other things," He went on, ignoring my unintelligent burst of wording. I looked up into his face, my jaw dropping as I saw his expression. He wasn't distant or disappointed; he wasn't even looking at me with regret. Instead his eyes blazed with a sort of fire I hadn't seen in a while, his mouth fixed in the brightest smile I had ever seen.

Unbelievably it was all aimed at me, as though he could see the sun radiating directly out of my core.

"W-w-wait," I stuttered. "You still like me. You still want to be with me even though I'm not a novelty any more, even though I don't smell like I use to here and now?"

Edward looked even more stunned than I did. "What are you talking about?" He asked in confusion. "Of course I still want to be with you. " He shook his head in dismay. "When will you start believing that I love you more than anything in this world or my world combined? I don't care if you smell like the most luscious blood on earth or I can't sense your scent at all, you're still you."

"Right," I replied embarrassed, shame setting in at my complete stupidity. I really am a block head sometimes.

"No," he cut in. "I have to make you understand this. This isn't some fling or an attempt to fight the fate that some author created for me, this is me. I love you, Ashley. And if you'd of let me the _last_ time I was here, I would have wanted to stay here with you and only you for the rest of my mortal life. All you have to do is ask me, and I'll be here." The passion and honesty of his words was so intense, I could feel the tears begin to build up in the corners of my eyes, threatening to spill over at a moment's notice. Total and unpolluted happiness. That was what this was and I couldn't think of many times in my life that had matched this. Times where I had ever felt this good. This empowered. This _wonderful_.

He closed whatever distance there was left between us, our bodies less than an inch from contact and then he simply reached out and touched me. His fingers ran softly down the back of my cheek, his eyes boring into me as though we were the only two people left on the planet. Just Edward and me.

And then he was kissing me.

Tears fell slowly down my cheeks as his lips closed down on mine. It was as though he could barely wait a minute longer. They molded themselves to mine in a way they had never done before and slowly his hand moved up into my hair, pulling me as close to him as possible. And as quickly as it had began, the kiss changed. What at first had been tender and slow soon became more and more intense by the second. The barriers that had been in place for so long had finally fallen. There were no restrictions. No more, we shouldn't or we can't.

Leaning into him, he let himself fall back onto the grass with me held tightly in his arms. I could hear my heart racing inside my chest, knowing with a smile that his was doing the exact same thing only centimeters away from my own. I gasped for breath amongst the kisses as he rolled over onto me, his mouth moving down to my neck. I shivered as his lips brushed carefully against my skin and then down across my collarbone.

"Edward," I whispered breathlessly, finding my fingers had somehow found their way to the buttons of his shirt. Quickly, he moved away from my neck and up above my face, his hands clasping together around mine which still gripped his shirt. He looked at me uneasily.

"No," he said softly. "Not here, not like this." He shook his head, one of his hands now moving to stroke my hair again. "Not while you're this young. You're only sixteen."

I nodded, seeing how he had jumped to this conclusion. "Don't worry," I told him. "That's not what I want. Not yet." His eyes softened, relief filling him. "Not until I'm older. I just wanted…." What had I wanted? I looked up at him thoughtfully, trying to find the right explanation. "…you. All of you."

He smiled. Find this acceptable, he softly touched his lips to my forehead before moving to give me one final, light kiss on my lips. In a flash of movement similar to that of his vampire reflexes, he moved sideways, pulling me with him, onto his chest. I slid to the side, laying my head comfortably on his chest.

Listening quietly, I could hear it, as strong as anything. His heartbeat. The most wonderful sound in the world, thudding away beneath his chest. The sound of the living.

Slowly, I began to wonder about the time. How long had we been away in our own little bubble? Were we needed somewhere? And more importantly, what was I supposed to do now that I suspected I knew who was behind the string of murders? I'd told Jacob my suspicions and had yet to hear from him. As much as I hated to interrupt this perfect moment, it had to be done. Edward and his family had to know. And I had to be the one to tell them. It was time I started being proactive. There were things that needed to be dealt with.

Victoria, for the most part, was a major problem. I had no clue what it was that she was up to now that her previous plan had failed, nor how the werewolves were planning to deal with it but I had better start considering possibilities before she turned up again.

Secondly, Laurent, if he was the one behind the murders, needed a good talking to. He was encroaching on the Cullen's territory which could prove particularly problematic for them in the future. The longer they were able to stay in Forks undetected, the better. Besides, nobody would want the Voltori getting involved if the unexpected happened.

And also, me. I couldn't stay in Forks forever. My parents were probably extremely worried about me and here I was playing superhero. Or well, helping Edward do it. No matter what happened, I was going to have to make a decision eventually whether I liked it or not.

Now was the time to get started. Okay Ashley, deal with what's in your control first and that means Laurent. Sitting up, I looked down at Edward lying on the grass, obviously watching me intently.  
"Edward, I need to tell you something." I began. Oh god, here we go.

He sat up, his usual curiosity returning. "What is it?"

I refrained from twisting my fingers about in my lap or pulling out strands of grass by focusing on him and him alone. "It's about the murders that have been happening in Forks." Now the seriousness came into play. Whatever peace Edward had been experiencing less than a minute ago had quickly disappeared.

"What about them?" He asked, his voice perfectly even.  
I titled my head to the side, choosing my words carefully. "The thing is that… I think I know who's behind them." I finally pushed out.

He looked surprised. "How?"

"Err…well, Victoria was here from James's death up until I allowed her to get back to Forks so that rules her out. Your family and the wolves believe it's a vampire so that narrows it down even more and with James dead and you guys not big on the whole feeding on humans thing, according to my New Moon novel, the only other person it could be is," I paused.

Edward's eyes widened and as quickly as the motion had occurred, they narrowed. It appeared that, given the right information, he had come to the same conclusion as I had. There would be no more need for reasoning. It was moments like these that I thanked my lucky stars Edward had taken the time to read my Twilight saga novels when he'd been stuck by my hospital bed those months ago.  
At last he forced the name out through a clenched jaw, sending shivers up my spine at the amount of menace he could contain within a single word.

"_Laurent_,"

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**A/N: Like I said, some of the nice stuff before moving on to the serious stuff. I worked out a couple of story bits and pieces now, so I've got a good idea where it's going. Still, if you've got any questions or ideas, don't be afraid to let me know.**

**Oh and don't forget to review. I always love to know what you think about how the fic's going. :)**


	10. Discussions

**Disclaimer: Twilight related = Stephenie Meyer, Lost in Austen related = Guy Andrews. **

**A/N: Okay, I know, it's been a while and I deserve to be beaten down and shot. I've been busy and lazy. Also, according to a friend of mine, something needs to happen. So I'll just let you know, that things will start to pick up soon from their rather slow state. As for now, enjoy the new chapter, I apologize for grammatical errors and I'll get working on the next chap ASAP. :)**

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**Return to Meyer**

**10. Discussions **

I sat silently on the edge of my bed, my gaze fixed firmly on a plain spot on the opposite wall. I blinked, thinking back to how exactly I'd ended up back in Bella's room so fast.

Oh, that's right. I'd opened my big mouth.

There I was, lying in the sunlight with Edward – and a human Edward at that – and I'd gone and ruined it with my whole 'Laurent is attacking people in the vicinity' comment. After realising the importance of what I was saying, it hadn't taken Edward very long to jump into action. Before I'd known what was happening, we were walking back through the double dimensional door and he was carrying me at top speed through the trees.

To top things off, he'd dropped me off at Charlie's with the words, "Stay here until I get back. That means no wandering through the forest. I've got to bring this up with Carlisle." At this he'd kissed me on the forehead and told me he'd "be back soon." Why is it that nobody tells me anything?

Over the next hour, I moved around the bedroom restlessly. A few pages of a book, a scribbled sketch on the edge of a piece of paper, hair up, hair down…

Suddenly, the sound of rustling leaves startled me. I glanced at the window sill, my eyes wide with apprehension. Part of me hoped it was just Edward returning with news but the other, the more realistic voice, reminded me just how unsafe and exposed I was standing there.

What if it was Victoria? What if she'd come to finish the job finally?

I sucked in a breath, taking a step forward towards the sill, waiting for something to come through. Pausing, I listened. Silence.

Out of nowhere a shape flew through the window and landed crouched on the carpet. I cried out, taken off guard. "Whoa, Ash! Relax, it's just me." Jacob reassured me as he stood up, holding his hands out in front of him.

I breathed a sigh of relief, feeling my shoulders relax. "You're right. God, it's just you." Jacob smiled, happy that I seemed to be relieved to see him. Before he could react I casually picked up a book and wacked him with it.

"Hey!" He cried, raising his hands for protection.

"Stop _doing_ that! Don't you know how to use the door?!" I yelled, annoyed at his ability to scare me.

He grinned arrogantly, putting his weight onto his left foot. "Did I scare you?" he chuckled.

The scowl deepened as I held the book up again threateningly. "No," I denied.

"Yes, you were." He replied.

Before we could start a whole new argument of 'yes you were,' 'no I wasn't', I interrupted. "Moving on, what are you doing here?" I crossed my arms across my chest expectantly. Usually Jacob didn't come swinging through open windows unless he had something "supernatural" to discuss. Then again, it wouldn't have mattered even if he had come in the normal way, Charlie wasn't home yet.

Jacob flinched slightly at my tone, giving me the impression that he was slightly hurt by the bluntness of my words. I sighed, "Sorry," I amended, softening my tone. "When I hadn't heard from you in a while, I thought you'd ditched me or something."

"I've been busy," He shot me an apologetic smile. I sat back on the bed and gestured beside me. He plunked down on the mattress as I tried to avert my eyes from his bare torso. Okay, I love Edward, but there is no denying that Jacob is hot in more ways than one. I'd gotten that much from Taylor Lautner's recent bulking up for New Moon.

One of his eyebrows rose as he watched me try to hide my awkwardness before grinning even more smugly than before. "I'm not making you uncomfortable am I?" he asked, knowing full well how I felt.  
"Nope," I lied, focusing on his face.

He rolled his eyes, smile holding in place as he turned to business. "Anyway, like I said, I've been busy. We've been chasing that vampire you mentioned, the one who…" he paused, his eyes glancing over the places on body where Victoria's wounds had healed.

"Victoria, yes?" I clarified.

He remained silent for a few moments. By the look in his eyes, I could tell that he was trying to calm himself down. I would rather he didn't burst into a fluffy ball right in the middle of Charlie's house if he could help it. "Jake?" I pressed.

He breathed out in a rush, "I'm good." He answered my unasked question.

"You sure?"

Nodding, he returned to our conversation as though nothing had happened. "The bloodsucker was originally darting in and out across the border between here and Canada but eventually she slipped past us and headed back here."

"She's good at that." I added, thinking of Victoria's particular talent for escaping tight situations. According to Edward, it was probably one of the reasons James liked keeping her around as much as he did.

"Now she's making things difficult by crossing the treaty line."

I nodded, understanding what he meant. If Victoria wasn't on the wolves' side of the treaty line then crossing it could mean war for them and the Cullens. It was a problem that's resolution I hoped followed the plot line of the novels.

"Has your…" he began. I broke in, not wanting to hear another vampire related insult come from between Jake's lips.

"_Edward_,"

"Has he told you about the treaty?" I nodded, realising that answering yes to this question would be so much easier than coming up with some other explanation as to how I would understand this entire back story without having had Edward tell me about it. "Then you understand why we can't do much."

"I get it. You're doing what you can. What about Laurent?" I asked almost fearfully.

Jacob frowned, clearly agitated by this subject. "We've been patrolling the area as much as we can from our side of the line but nothing so far. Either he's backed off to avoid us or he's hunting elsewhere."

"By elsewhere, you mean…on the Cullen's side." I explained.

He nodded slightly before standing up and positioning himself in front of me. I looked up, suddenly feeling extremely small. "Look, don't worry Ash. We'll find them soon. Trust me." At that moment, I did trust him. Every muscle in his body exuded determination and surety. I just hoped that when he did find them that he avoided having his bones broken in multiple places like he did in Eclipse. I didn't think I could take that.

"You doing okay?" he asked all of a sudden, his eyes wide with concern. "You look….better." he observed simply.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. All I needed was a couple of chick flicks, some chocolate. You know the drill." I joked.

At that moment, in a very Edwardish and protective gesture, he reached down and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, his fingers lightly brushing my cheek as they were removed.

I smiled, "God, I wish I could take you home with me."

He grinned, "Home eh?"

Laughing, I nodded. "Yeah, I'd love to see you get completely mauled by the girls at my school. I'm not sure if it would wipe that smile off your face or make it permanent."

An odd look crossed his face, registering the confusion he felt at my words. "Don't worry. You'll understand someday. Trust me." I told him, repeating his earlier request.

Taking a few steps back, he ran a hand through his hair, letting it fall messily back into place. "I've got to run." He told me. I stood, following him.

"Of course you do, you've got vampires to track down." I reminded him. He rolled his eyes before holding coming over to encompass me in a bear hug.

The warmth of his skin surrounded me, a woody and earthy smell filling my nose. In some ways, Jacob reminded me of those summer days I spent when I went to visit my family up north. Days when we opened the patio doors to let the breeze come in and I sat drinking some sort of fizzy drink while my mum played scrabble. It was a comforting feeling. A reminder of home in such a foreign place.

He let me go and with a final wave, he slid out the window and down the tree onto the ground. I watched silently until he disappeared quickly until the trees.

I turned around and walked back towards the bed. Stopping, my limbs froze as the breeze hit the back of my neck. "Took you long enough," I said without turning around.

His voice rang out from behind me, as musical as always but tinged with the smallest part of annoyance. "Alice didn't want to interrupt the discussion with the fact that she had just lost your future in a vision of blackness."

Spinning around on my heel, I turned to face Edward who was now standing rigidly on the other side of the room. The tension rolled off of him in heavy waves. "Where is he?" He asked quietly but forcefully as I watched his eyes dart around the room predatorily. If I had to admit it, I'd say that it worried me more than a little.

"You just missed him." I replied. There was no need to deny it. He and I both knew that Jacob had been here. It took a couple of moments for the words to sink in but as soon as they did, his body relaxed ever so slightly, his nose wrinkling in disgust. "Sorry, I know you must hate the wet dog smell but you don't smell so great to him either."

"You shouldn't be spending time with him. Werewolves are dangerous and the people around them get hurt." He told me seriously.

"Edward, please don't make me have this argument with you. You've read the books, you know how this argument with Bella turned out and that Jacob is perfectly able to control himself."

His eyes narrowed. "You aren't Bella, things have changed." He paused, taking a casual step backwards before continuing. "Are you going to tell me that Paul or Sam have never lost control?" The shot was direct, him knowing perfectly well that it was something I couldn't deny. Emily's facial scars were proof enough.

"That's different." I said.

He shook his head as I watched him adjust his body position again, angling it further away from me. A nagging feeling having been set off at the back of my mind, I looked at him closely. "Edward, why do you keep stepping away from me every few seconds? I know the smell must be unpleasant but it's not _that _bad."

Examining his face closely as I hadn't before, my gaze zeroed in on his own. The lightbulb flickered on, leaving me with a distressing realization. "Why are your eyes so dark all of sudden?" I asked.

He looked away, subtly stepping back again but ignoring the question.

"Edward, relax. I trust you. I'm just asking why they're black all of a sudden after they were bright gold this morning." Glancing up, I could see that the dark shadows had returned under his eyes. Ones that, combined with the darkness of his irises, told me that he was hungry.

And not just hungry, starving.

"They've been like this ever since we came back through the door between worlds." He explained, his tone perfectly even.

"And you haven't fed yet?" I questioned.

Again he shook his head in response. "We've been discussing what there is to do about Laurent. I haven't had time in between that and coming here to ensure your safety."

"So what have you guys decided to do about our little problem?"

His expression darkened, thinking back to previous discussions. "As it is, according to Carlisle, our best chance of resolving things peacefully is to travel to Denali and try to talk things through."

Hmm…a visit to Tanya's family, huh? Now _that_ sounded like an interesting afternoon. "Sounds like a good idea." I agreed with a nod.

"Besides," he went on, "I would hate things to end up as they did at the end of Breaking Dawn. Our families have known each other too long for something like this to disrupt our previous harmony."

Seeing his growing discomfort, I chose to step back this time. There was no point having him here if he wasn't going to be like this. I'd only ever seen him this hungry on the very first day I'd met him. A day where he supposedly spent every second trying not to rip my throat out. If I was going to do the smart thing, I'd let him go.

"Edward, you better go hunt. Being this close to me in a small room is killing you." I admitted aloud to both him and myself. At this, he stared into my directly for the first time since his arrival, a look of gratitude for my understanding clear inside his eyes.

After a momentary pause, he crossed the room in a few long strides, placing himself directly in front of me. Smoothly, he pressed his icy lips to my forehead. When I looked up, he was gone.

God, life is so much more complicated in a fictional world.

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**A/N: There you go. Hopefully it wasn't a too bad a read. Anyway, like I said, getting to work on the next chapter now. It should be up soon. Remember to review. **

_**Next time on Return to Meyer: The Cullen family is off to Denali to visit some old friends but with Ashley determined to tag along, Edward and Jacob both in agreement about something for once and the reason for some of their problems at the other end of the line, how will things play out?**_

_**Next Time. **_


	11. Alaska

**Disclaimer: Twilight related = Stephenie Meyer, Lost in Austen related = Guy Andrews. **

**A/N: I told you I'd get working on it as soon as possible. So here's the new chapter. Time to change things up a little. My school holidays begin tomorrow afternoon so hopefully I'll have more time to myself to write and finish things off soon. As for now, enjoy, ignore my bad grammar and don't forget to review.**

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**Return to Meyer**

**11. Alaska**

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The evening dragged on, hour by hour. Attempting to find ways to pass the time, I ate dinner, watched TV and even tried teaching Charlie a card game that was popular with my friends back home. I pushed all thoughts of Edward and Jacob towards the back of my mind, knowing that there was no point worrying about them. They were tough and could take whatever it was life threw at them. Besides, Edward could tear a vampires head off with his bare hands and Jake could shred them with a rip of his teeth.

"You okay kid?" Charlie asked, interrupting my mess of tangled thoughts. Hmm…to use the four or not to use the four. It was a complicated and important dilemma. One that I was happy to face rather than the out-of-this-world problems I'd been experiencing lately. Personally, I'd rather I curled up with a copy of my 'The O.C.' DVDs and deal with somebody else's drama than face my own. And sure enough, they have plenty of drama to go around in that show.

"I'm fine." I said, my mind working in a blur as I placed the four followed by several others before finally slapping the smaller card pile. "Except for the fact that I just beat you again," I grinned as I took my stack, happy in my achievement.

He returned the smile lightly, his eyes crinkling at the corners in the way that made him look years younger. "What about you? You seem to have been working a lot lately."

The smiled disappeared, replaced by a strong grimace. "Yeah," he admitted. "Some of the guys and I've been trying to hunt down those wolves attacking the bushwalkers."

I froze, my hands fixed on the pile of now evenly stacked cards. "Mmhmm," I mumbled, a little on the anxious side. He eyed me carefully.

"Somebody's gotta do it, Ash."

My hands resumed their attempts to shuffle as I nodded in mock understanding, "I get it. It's your job."

Deep down I could feel the sudden panic set in at the idea of Charlie straying too far at the wrong time and ending up meeting Laurent. Or worse…Victoria.

A shiver ran up my spine as I tried to hide it by shifting in my seat. Slapping the cards down on the kitchen table, I stood up. "I'm feeling kind of tired." Yeah, sure you're tired. Ask your dad. He knows you never admit to feeling tired.

Charlie leaned back in his seat casually. "Yeah, okay. I'll talk to you in the morning."

With a brief wave, I headed briskly upstairs to find a new outlet for my occupation.

** **** **

Somewhere between sleep and awake, I found myself staring drearily into the face of Bella's alarm clock. The light from the numbers filtered out into the darkness, hitting my face in a smudge. Every minute felt like an hour, and as much as I hated to admit it, watching the clock wasn't going to do a thing. I had no clue what was going on and it bothered me more than I liked. Yet, I was human and the only place for me was here. In bed. Watching the clock and waiting for someone, _anyone_ to bring me some news.

Out of the black and silence, I felt a breath of air on my neck and a voice at my ear. "Chaotic thoughts?" it whispered against my skin. I shivered as the hairs on the back of my neck stood up on end. The only thing I knew was that it wasn't in a bad way.

"You could say that." I replied, trying to keep my voice at a similar volume. The last thing I needed was Charlie walking in, thinking that I was talking to myself.

I turned over slowly as the covers rustled around me. Beside me, my eyes could just make out Edward's shape. His eyes on the other hand, were almost luminescent. "I can barely see you." I pointed out with a smile.

A low chuckle sounded in the air as one of his hands reached up to brush against my cheek. "You're so human."

I shrugged. "Well, with 23 chromosone pairs, that was the idea." I told him teasingly. Staring deeply into his eyes, I felt a sense of relief. "Feeling better?"

He exhaled a sigh, "Much." He said simply.

I echoed his previous sigh, my unease showing through the body language. He picked up instantly. "What's bothering you?"

"Not bothering exactly." I said, choosing my words carefully. "It's just, I was wondering about your visiting Denali."

"There's nothing to worry about. Carlisle, Alice, Jasper and I are going to drive up there tomorrow. The others are saying behind…just in case." He didn't need to explain to me why this was necessary. "It'll take a while getting there but driving the way we do, it'll be faster than the average trip."

"And once you _do_ get there? What then?"

"We talk." He said simply. "Try to work this out peacefully. Carlisle doesn't want to broach the subject of war but if Laurent refuses to agree and the others choose to defend him, it isn't out of the question."

Another possibility occurred to me. "What about the Voltori? They deal with things that could lead to your exposure, don't they? And with the way this is going it could end up that way –"

He broke in vehemently, "No. None of us want the Voltori involved. We'll sort this out amongst ourselves." I wasn't about to disagree with this. The last thing we needed was the Voltori coming around and asking questions about the particular human who somehow happened to know a lot of things about the vampire world. Namely, me.

"Alright," I agreed. "But, one thing."

"What?"

I paused for a moment before asking my request. "I want to come to Denali."

Despite my lack of sight, it didn't take a genius to work out that he would be unhappy about this. "Fine, I'll take you there next spring."

"You know that's not what I meant."

"No." He said firmly.

Frowning, I felt my lips sink into an unrestrained pout. "Why? They're vegetarians like you. And its not like Laurent is even going to try to hurt me with you all there. He's not stupid." I reasoned.

"Ashley," he sighed. "You're around supernatural creatures as much as it is. I won't willingly put you in a situation where you could be harmed."

"Edward," I tried again.

"No," he repeated.

Seeing no other way to make him change his mind, I stooped lower. "Fine, I'll get Alice to take me. You won't all travel in the same car. And you know she will." Playing the Alice card. That really is low Ashley.

"She wouldn't dare." He replied, his temper flaring up. At that moment I believed fully that nobody sane would dare cross him.

Okay, try again. "Okay, I guess I just see what Jacob's doing over the next couple of days. Hey, maybe we'll invite the rest of pack and make it a party." To my own ears it sounded like a threat, then again, that's probably what it was. I had resulted to using Jake against him. Gosh, I _was _bad.

"Ashley," he growled, a note of helplessness in his voice.

Reaching out, I placed a finger over his lips, silencing him. "Look, all I want is to go to Alaska. I won't get hurt. I'll stay out of trouble, I promise." I cringed at the sound of my voice. I had started to sound like whiny child, begging their parents to let them go out with their friends. Ugh! He's my boyfriend. Not my dad.

By the quiet I was faced with, I could tell he was thinking the decision over this time. Leave me here to spend time with werewolves he deemed unsafe or take me with him where he could make sure I was safe? Not a hard choice.

An exhale of air from his position showed me that the odds had turned in my favour. "Is that a yes?" I asked eagerly.

"It's a…possibly." He pushed out. "Why is it that you want to go so badly anyway?" the curiosity plain in his voice.

I grinned broadly at the question. "Why else? It's something new."

** **** **

The conversations about my "trip" with both Jacob and Charlie had been so similar but yet so different. Even being unaware of certain information that Jake was privy to, Charlie was still uneasy about me driving to Alaska with Edward. When he heard that Carlisle and Alice were going too, the feelings eased slightly. Although, Charlie had never been much of a front where Alice was concerned.

"You're going where?" Charlie asked bluntly, his face a mask of confusion.

"Denali, Alaska." I repeated.

He seemed to do a sort of double take as the words attempted to register. "Why?"

It was at this moment that I was thankful for Alice to do the talking. Lies were so not my thing. "Our family has some friends up in Alaska that we've been eager to see for a while now. They've heard about Ashley from Carlisle and are eager to meet her so we asked if she wanted to come along for the trip." Alice explained calmly. "It'll only be for a couple of days and we'll take perfectly good care of her." Seeing his reluctance, Alice tried the parental approach. "If you'd like, I could ask Carlisle to call you and give you the details. I keep my cell on me at all times so if there are any problems you can ring this number." She quickly pulled out a white card with a set of numbers written on it in neat flowing script and handed it to him.

Charlie glanced back and forth between the number, Alice and I, the gears working quickly inside his head. Finally he spoke. "You'll call me when you get there?" He asked, his voice gruff.

I nodded. "Of course,"

"Just for a couple of days, right?" He checked with Alice.

She smiled brightly, "We'll be back before you know it."

"And I don't want you sleeping in the same room as Edward." He told me firmly. I rolled my eyes, trying to contain my embarrassment.

"Don't worry. She'll bunk in with me." Alice reassured him. She turned to me with an evil glint in her eye, "And don't expect to get any sleep."

I laughed. Little did Charlie know, I would be the only one getting any sleep over the next few days. Well, the only one who would need it.

The conversation with Jacob was a little harder…

"You're going where?"

I sighed, sick of this question. "Alaska, Jake."

He ran a hand back through his dark hair in frustration, his eyes fixed on me. "With the bloodsucker and his family." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, with the Cullens."

His face fell into a scowl, brows furrowed. "Why?" His tone was harsh. I flinched.

"Actually, we're going to sort out your hiker problem." I explained.

"_My _hiker problem?" he shot out.

"Fine, _our_ hiker problem. The Cullen's hiker problem, whatever. It's still a problem that needs to be sorted out." I snapped.

"You're not going." He said, equally as firmly as Edward's original answer.

I rolled my eyes. "You sound like Edward."

He smiled sardonically. "Then I guess we agree on something for once."

Groaning, I shifted my feet. "Don't do this Jacob. Just say good luck and I'll see you soon. I don't need this crap."

"You call trying to keep you safe crap? You know what Ashley, fine. Go ahead. Go to Alaska. I don't care." He turned around and began heading in the opposite direction.

Again, I groaned, looking upwards at the darkened sky. "Why the hell do fictional characters have to be such drama queens? Especially the boys," I mumbled at the sky before taking off after him. "Jake, don't be like that. I know you mean well, it's just that there's nothing to worry about. I'll be perfectly fine. You'll see."

He grunted, his back turned towards me. "I'll take that as a yes." I told him brightly, keeping up our now one sided conversation.

"I am going to hug you now. So if you're going to protest, do it now. Not that it'll do any good." I warned him as I wrapped my arms around his waist from behind. Pressing my face into the back of his t-shirt, I felt him sigh.

"Ash?" I heard him say.

I looked up, my arms still around him.

"Sometimes you make it really hard to stay angry at you."

** **** **

After ending up in the Volvo with Edward and Alice, I spent the majority of an extremely long trip watching the scenery pass by, reading and drifting in and out of sleep while Edward drove like his usual speed demon self. The last couple of days had worn me out as much as I hated to admit it and I'd always found that long car trips involving no physical activity somehow managed to tire you out a _lot_. It was a quiet drive, Edward still clearly unhappy with the fact that I was coming along for the ride and Alice, her eyes closed, focusing on the many different areas of the future that she'd been asked to keep an eye on. I took her silence as reassurance that everything was okay, she would have told us if something had happened. Not to mention, Edward would have reacted to the picture flashing through her mind.

Low volume music played in the background, an old Linkin park CD followed by various others I couldn't seem to make out. I sang along quietly to the songs I knew but at one point during the music when my eyes darted towards the rear-view mirror, I could have sworn I saw Edward smiling.

"Ashley?" Alice's voice called softly as I felt a light touch on my shoulder, stirring me. "We're here." She said as my eyes flickered open. Her eyes were wide and she seemed a little strained but I could tell she was happy to be out of the confines of the car. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Jasper and Carlisle pulling up beside us.

From the amount of light coming in the car, it was day. Probably late afternoon, I guessed.

Unclasping the seatbelt, I swung my legs around and hopped out of the door, shutting it behind me.

Alice and Edward stood waiting for me on the pathway up to, like the Cullen's, a beautifully designed house. Wide arched windows, secluded tree areas, wooden panelling and above us a grey and clouding sky. The place practically screamed vampire hideaway. Well, to me anyway.

As I reached Edward, he wrapped a hand around my back, slowly guiding me up to the house. "Nice place." I commented, eyeing the exterior.

"It's a fault of families like ours. We like our space." Carlisle said, looking a little guilty as he approached.

I grinned, "That, and your extremely fast cars."

"Well, yes." He admitted.

Sure enough, further up the drive was a smooth, silver and shiny car. It stood as though it's headlights were eyes, watching my every step. Still, I had to admit, it was a beautiful car. If you liked that sort of thing, that is.

"Eleazar's a fan of the Mercedes Benz." Edward told me, following my gaze.

"Surprise, surprise," I said sarcastically.

Quickening my pace in order to keep up with the Cullen's lengthy strides, we followed Carlisle up the drive until we reached the house. By this point, members of Tanya's family were already waiting for us. With everyone in the vicinity apart from myself having vampire hearing, I shouldn't have been surprised but it still felt a little odd.

Suddenly, two female vampires came into view. Both were blonde, golden eyed and absolutely gorgeous down to the last facial feature. It wasn't hard to see why these two had been called succubus during one period of their lives. As if any man could possibly resist that level of perfection?

One of the two vampires stood further back than the other, a set of slim, leather gloves over her hands. Thinking back to Breaking Dawn, I searched my memory for a vampire that would have reason to wear gloves in the present weather conditions. Kate. As far as I recall, Kate's particular ability involved an electric current constantly running underneath her skin. Often it shocked those who came in contact with it. I doubted the gloves would do much to contain it but that was her call, not mine.

Turning my attention to the vampire beside her, I felt my mind go blank. Strawberry blonde waves fell in long waves down her back while her smiled revealed a set of brilliantly white teeth.

Like the Cullens both were dressed extremely well, adding to the glamour of their appearance. In amongst it all I felt extremely underdressed. Not just in terms of dress was I out of place but also in species.

Returning my attention the gorgeous second blonde I had yet to come up with a name for, I felt my limbs freeze.

Carlisle approached the pair equally warmly, his arms outstretched. Reaching out for the vampire without gloves he took her hands in his, kissing her swiftly on the cheek before uttering the name I had been forcefully preparing myself to hear.

"Tanya,"

* * *

**A/N: There you go, finally something is "happening." I know, it's a little weird at the moment but I'm working on it. Writing these characters is going to be a little difficult considering that I haven't read Breaking Dawn in a while so if they seem a little OOC at times, forgive me. I'm trying my best. Although if I do do something you think is wrong, comment and let me know. I'll do my best to fix it. Anyway, for now, review so I can hear your thoughts. Hope you're enjoying the story. I'll get working on the next chap soon.**

_**Next Time on Return to Meyer: Ashley and the Cullens are finally in the position to sort things out in Alaska, but when accusations begin flying around and mates become protective of their partners, will their welcome be worn out prematurely? And with Laurent back on the human blood diet and Ashley looking extremely tempting from across the room, is the only human in the vicinity at risk?**_

_**Next Time.**_


	12. Denali

**Disclaimer: Twilight related = Stephenie Meyer, Lost in Austen related = Guy Andrews. The filler that links it all together = Me.**

**A/N: Sorry for the long delay. I'm really stringing this story out for you guys and I apologize. I know it must be frustrating to get little dribs and drabs every so often. Still, ignore the grammar and hope you like it.**

* * *

**Return to Meyer**

**12. Denali**

* * *

For the briefest of moments time seemed to stand completely still. No sound, no movement and no thought. Just being. As quickly as it came about, it ended. And suddenly things began to move at such a rapid pace I could barely keep up.

It began with a word. "Carlisle," Alice and Edward said together, breaking the mood. Beside me Edward's body was rigid and his eyes wide.

Several heads snapped up instantaneously in unison, swerving round to gaze into the nearby trees. Before I knew it Jasper and Carlisle had disappeared.

"Wait here," Edward told me before he followed.

Tanya looked at the vampire I believed to be Kate, Catch up with Irina." She said quickly as the gloved blonde took off in a similar direction leaving Alice and I on the porch with Tanya. "Come inside," she gestured towards the door, allowing for us to step through in front of her.

Confused, I entered after Alice. The only guess I could come up with for what was happening was that Laurent had heard the Cullens were here and attempted to make a break for it. But could he really be that stupid? There was no way he could hide from Alice's visions or outrun Edward. I could assume that that was why the Carlisle, Jasper and Edward had taken off like they had. They were trying to catch up to him before he got too far away.

Whoa. I stared around the room with a stunned expression. You'd think I would have been use to walking into a totally beautiful and huge house after seeing the Cullens' so many times. Ah….no. The Denali clan were definitely not scrappy on architecture, decorating or housekeeping. The house was immaculate. It made my reasonably large double story house back home look like a shoebox.

I coughed, trying to force myself to speak. "Err…you're house is beautiful." Nice Ashley. Creative. You sound like a complete idiot. Looking down at my feet and the shoes by the door, I left my own beside them. I was brought up to be a polite guest.

"Thank you," Tanya replied calmly to my comment, showing us into the living room. Living room, ha. I'm sure they'd get a laugh out of that commonly used term.

Standing cautiously was a male vampire I could only assume was Eleazar and another female, who by her stance, appeared to be his mate Carmen. "Carmen, Eleazar," Alice greeted the two vampires cordially as Tanya sat gracefully on a nearby couch. The worry lines on her face showed her concern. Yet, apart from Rosalie she was probably the most stunning woman I had ever seen in my entire life. I felt my self esteem plummet three levels just by looking at her. Sure, I'm not ugly but even in another lifetime there was no way I would or could ever compare to this level of beauty. How Edward had passed her up despite his thing for brunettes amazed me. Oh crap, and I just dyed my hair blonde. Talk about ironic.

"Alice, would you kindly explain to us what it is that's happening?" Eleazar queried, his brow raised in both wonder and anxiety.

"Carlisle will tell you everything when he gets back, I promise."

As if someone had snapped their fingers, Eleazar's eyes darted towards my face. A slight crease of the forehead showed that he was examining me, how I didn't know. Finally he spoke, "You are Ashley, Edward's mate?" he asked.

My eyes widened as I felt myself step back involuntarily. "Okay, sorry. The term mate just sounds very…"

"Binding?" he provided. His choice of word interested me. Why would he think I would react badly to that?

I shook my head, smiling apologetically. "I meant to say animalistic." It sounded weird but it was how I felt. "I prefer girlfriend."

He smiled weakly at this and nodded. "I understand why you would feel that way." He sympathised. His odd expression returned, his eyes still gazing directly at me unabashed.

Feeling nervous I did what I usually did, spoke. "Is there something wrong?"

Eleazar shook his head. "Nothing wrong exactly. I'm not sure what the Cullens have told you about our family but I, personally, normally am able to sense the particular…abilities of those such as myself." Feeling the need to clarify himself, he paused. "Vampires."

I nodded, already knowing this detail from reading Breaking Dawn. "I am also, to a certain extent, able to get an idea what a specific human may have talents with. Vaguely a sense of the things they excel at."

"Okay," I prompted, not seeing where this was going.

"Looking at you, I find myself feeling, for lack of a better word, nothing." He explained simply.

I froze. Wait a minute, did he mean… "You mean I'm not good at anything?" I blurted out.

Backtracking quickly, he held up a hand. "No, no, of course not. That's not what I'm saying. It's merely that I can't seem to gain a read on your abilities. Less so than that of a normal human."

Taking a deep breath, I relaxed. It was probably just because I wasn't from around here. People like Eleazar don't exist where I come from ."Right, no big deal." The room fell into silence soon after this.

Unable to stand the quiet, I opened my mouth ready to speak. Before the words could come, a loud crash sounded through the house. The sound of a large sheet of glass crashing to the ground in a mess of sharpened, fragmented pieces.

"Ashley, please wait here. I'll come and get you when I know it's safe." Alice told me as her and the others disappeared from my line of view. Damn. Why am I always being told to stay put? I'm not helpless or incompetent. I sat down on the couch, pouting.

A second crash hit my ears followed by loud growls and yells I couldn't seem to understand. Nope, no way I'm sitting here listening to this and trying to work out if there's a massacre going on in the other room. Getting to my feet, I ran towards the sound glancing from room to room along the hallway until I reached the kitchen. Catching sight of light reflecting off the floor, I forced myself to stop mere centimetres from a scattered minefield of broken glass.

Whew. I exhaled deeply. If I'd kept running I probably would have cut my feet on the broken glass and by the looks of the scene taking place in front of me, it would have been about the stupidest thing anyone could possibly have done.

Laurent was pinned up against a wall by Edward and Jasper while Carlisle, Tanya and Eleazar attempted to reason with a furious Irina. My jaw dropped.

Unlike his mate, Laurent appeared to have stopped fighting and had resorted to standing still. "You can release me," I heard him tell his captors.

"Sure, so we can chase you back out there and drag you back." Jasper said vehemently.

"Jasper, Edward, let him go." Carlisle ordered. Grudgingly they both loosened their grip on Laurent, allowing him to shake his limbs freely in agitation.

"Irina, we only wish to discuss some things with Laurent. We have no reason for any violence. Our issues are important and needed to be broached urgently. You must see why we had to stop him from leaving." Carlisle rationalised their actions decisively and politely. Slowly logic began to set in to Irina's mind. Her stance relaxed but her eyes remained narrowed. Even I could see that she was still hostile no matter what she wanted anyone else to think.

"Fine. If that's so, discuss your urgent issues quickly and then I would appreciate it if you'd leave." She said seething.

"Irina," Tanya cautioned, clearly uncomfortable by the current situation. Should she support her obviously distressed and outnumbered sister or her friends who had yet done nothing to warrant any form of distrust.

"If that's what you wish. We won't wear out our welcome or your hospitality." Carlisle replied. Turning towards Laurent, his expression hardened ever so slightly. "Would you prefer to talk here or elsewhere?"

"Here is as good as anywhere else," he said unemotionally. Both three hundred or so year old vampires eyed each other silently, waiting for the other to speak. Carlisle to see if Laurent would confess to what half those in the room already knew he had done, Laurent to see what Carlisle would do with this information.

It was Laurent that broke. "Don't worry, I know why you are here." He said softly.

"Then you must have some idea of what I'm going to tell you." Carlisle said, his tone even.

"Some idea,"

"No-one wants to get the Volturi involved but I cannot allow this to continue. Not only will my family be exposed but the rest of our race as well. Although, despite my own wishes, if it does occur again I will notify them." It was not meant to be threatening, merely simple fact. I knew Carlisle well enough to know that his words were true. He would not relish setting the Volturi guards on another being but if it came down to it, he would choose to save the many others that would die if he did not.

"I understand," Laurent nodded. "I will leave, it won't happen again." He said, equally sincere.

"Thank you for your hospitality Tanya, Kate, Carmin, Eleazar…" Carlisle paused, his gaze stopping on a now very angry and confused Irina. "Irina." He finished, turning away and heading out the new open wall, into the trees.

A second later, Edward was beside me holding my shoes. He held them out to me, allowing for me to slip them back on and avoid severe cuts. I walked towards the direction Carlisle had left when I felt a strong grip around my wrist. A low voice at my ear whispered words reminding me of things I'd rather wished had stayed forgotten.

"If I could kill you now I would, if not only as an act of mercy. If you knew what Victoria had planned for you, you would give yourself to me freely. Do not underestimate her, she will be back for you."

With the sound of Edward's hiss in my ears and the hairs on the back of my neck standing up at Laurent's words, I walked in silence back to the Volvo for the long drive back.

* * *

**A/N: I know, its short but it covered the things I needed it to. I want this story finished, so I'll probably be working at it regularly over the next couple of days. We'll see how I go. Anyway, hope you're enjoying it. Remember to review.**

_**Next Time on Return to Meyer: True to Laurent's warning, Victoria's back. With a carefully thought out plan on her side, will this be the moment that rips apart Edward and Ashley forever?**_


	13. Revenge

**Disclaimer: Twilight related = Stephenie Meyer, Lost in Austen related = Guy Andrews. The amateur writer that links it all together = Me.**

**A/N: Like I said, here's the next chapter. Things I starting to speed up a little from now on. Forgive me for my grammar and disjointed thoughts. Hope you enjoy it. **

* * *

**Return to Meyer**

**13. Revenge**

* * *

By the time Edward had pulled up out front Charlie's house, I was exhausted. It was bordering on late, the moon shining brightly above our heads evidence enough of that. I sat up slowly, squinting as the rays entered the car. Beside me the car door opened, letting in a wave of fresh, cool air. I slid out, lowering my feet to the ground gently. Edward, a hand on the small of my back, guided me to the front door and then slowly up the stairs to avoid tired stumbling.

The lamp on the bedside table flickered on as the bedroom door closed to avoid allowing the light to spill out into the darkened hall. Edward's shape came into view in front of me.

"Get some sleep, I'll be back here in the morning." He said quietly before pressing his lips softly to my forehead.

"Can't you stay?" I muttered.

Lifting my chin up ever so slightly, a pair of darkened eyes looked into mine. "You know I want to, but no."

"Why…" I began before taking another look at his eyes. "Oh. Okay." I said, a trace of disappointment in my voice.

"I'll be out hunting, if you need me, call Alice." His fingers slowly caressed my cheek. "Sweet dreams," he whispered, a light smile playing on the ends of his lips. I nodded and he was gone.

Slipping into my pyjamas, I moved towards the bed, eager for my head to hit the pillow and then I heard it. RING.

You have got to be kidding me. Glancing at the alarm clock I scowled. 1 am. Who the hell calls at such a late hour? Again the ringing noise sounded from downstairs along with a loud snore from up the corridor. Damn. Wishing I could just ignore it but also knowing that it had to be pretty important for someone to call in the middle of the night, I sighed before trudging back downstairs to pick up the receiver.

"Hello," I mumbled into the phone.

"Ashley!" Jacob's relieved voice sounded over the line, waking me up ever so slightly.

"Oh Jake, it's you." A scoffing noise hit my ears as I imagined how those words must have sounded. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I was just wondering who it was I'd have to murder for calling so late when I got up tomorrow." See, even when tired I can tease. "So what's up?" I yawned loudly.

Awkward silence. "Nothing, I just wanted to talk to you." He answered finally.

I groaned. "As flattered as I am that you called just to hear my voice, couldn't you have waited a couple of hours?"

"No." Firm.

Exhaling, I gripped the phone tighter against my ear. "Okay. Look Jacob, I'm not dead or lying in a ditch somewhere. You can relax. Nobody is making an attempt on my life just now. So you can go patrol or whatever it is you should be doing instead of talking to me."

Okay, that sounded really bad.

"Wait, I didn't mean that either. Jake, I've been sitting a car for quite a few hours and I'm both physically and emotionally exhausted. Unless you want to sit here and take absolute crap from me that I'm going to hate myself for saying tomorrow, I suggest you come see me in the morning. After I've had apple juice, that is." I explained quickly, hoping he'd get the gist.

"Alright. Just checking you're okay. Did the bloodsuckers get that _problem _sorted out? If not, we're more than happy to go and take care of–"

I cut him off, "Yes, it's all taken care of. No need to go and rip anyone to shreds. Down boy."

Was that a sigh of disappointment I heard?

"When did…" he started again before my frustrated groan cut him off. "Oh right, tomorrow. Yeah, okay."

My head snapped up straight at the sound of a small thud. It was low and almost inaudible but it was there. "Ash?" Jacob said, suddenly worried.

I ignored him, my eyes straining in the dark to find the source of my alarm. "Ashley, what's going on?" Jacob continued to try and regain my attention. Again I ignored him. I took a few steps forward and paused, listening. My heart raced beneath my chest, every limb paused, waiting. Something was wrong. It may have sounded paranoid but it was true. I knew it.

Out of nowhere, a hand clasped my throat and a muffled cry burst through my lips. The phone hit the floor with a crash, leaving Jacob uttering his continuous cries of "Ash? Ashley!" to an empty room.

** **** **

The trees raced past in a blur as the new bruises on my shoulder and neck began to form. Déjà vu hit me like a steam train.

"Haven't we done this before?" I uttered suddenly wide awake to the redheaded vampire carrying me. Victoria answered my question with an animalistic snarl, her lip pulling back over her teeth in a way that sent shivers down my spine and warned me to lose the attitude fast.

"They'll just find you again Victoria. You can't hide." I tried the threat option. Alice would know, she would have seen Victoria taking me. Suddenly a chill ran through my entire body. Victoria had kidnapped me from Charlie's house. While I was on the phone. Talking to Jacob. A werewolf that clouded Alice's visions.

Oh no.

But she would see her carrying me. She had to. If she didn't….I didn't want to think about how bad this was going to be for me. Laurent's words echoed inside my head "_If I could kill you now I would, if not only as an act of mercy. If you knew what Victoria had planned for you, you would give yourself to me freely. Do not underestimate her, she will be back for you."_

I just hadn't listened. Now all I could do was one, hope that the Cullens found me soon or two, pray that Laurent had exaggeratingly imagined what Victoria would do to me when she caught up with me again. Then again, there was always option three and four: Panic and Beg.

Trees continued to rush by, rays of light breaking through gaps in between leaves every so often. I stifled a cry as Victoria's hands gripped me harder and harder. If she didn't let up a little soon, she would break something and even worse, I doubt she'd care if she did.

"Where are we going?" I asked pointlessly, knowing she wouldn't answer me. "You have to pick the right scenery to torture and kill me, do you?" Wait, what are you doing? She wants to string things out, let her. LET HER!

To my surprise, she chose to react to this comment. "Oh, _I'm_ not going to kill you." She said smugly.

Now I was confused. "What do you mean?" I blurted out.

"You'll see," she said with a laugh.

God, I really don't like the sound of that. If she wasn't, who was? Laurent? Some random vampire newborn army?

"I thought bad guys liked to discuss the brilliance of their plans, isn't that like a literature stereotype? Bragging?" I thought aloud.

"Hmm…" she replied, thoughtfully. "Maybe you're right. You won't be alive much longer anyway." She paused, a wicked smile spreading across her lips. "Where is your Edward tonight?"

A second wave of confusion hit me as I struggled to understand the question's relevance. I thought she was supposed to be explaining things to me not gaining info. "Hunting," I answered bluntly.

She nodded as her grin widened. "Animals, yes?"

I nodded. "What else?"

"Why don't we go pay dear Edward a visit? What do you think?" This was the moment the realisation occurred. No, she wouldn't. She couldn't.

If I had to draw a conclusion from this, it would be the worst possible scenario I could create under any circumstances. More so than Victoria torturing and killing me, more than James trapping me in my tae-kwon-do hall, more than Laurent offering to kill me as an act of mercy.

A look of horror twisted my features as I watched her every emotion play out across her face. Victoria beamed, knowing that I had reached the conclusion she had desired.

She was going to take me to wherever it was Edward and his family were hunting tonight. She would place me within tracking distance. And then…she would leave me to die. To be murdered by the one person I love more than anything else in the world. And not only would she kill me, she would destroy him.

"No," I whispered.

She nodded. "No," I repeated, louder and more frantic. "No, no, no. You can't. He won't. You…" Words burst out one after the other in meaningless and clipped sentences. I felt like screaming. She couldn't, she wouldn't. It's not possible. It doesn't happen like this.

She could. She would. And things have changed.

"Better say your goodbyes little human because according to my senses, we're here." She announced viciously, dropping out of her run. With a sneer of anger she pulled me off her and threw me into the air.

I moaned in pain as I hit a nearby tree with a thud. My glazed eyes looked across the stones and moss to find her, watching me, relishing the moment. "Please, don't do this. Please." I begged. I couldn't let this happen. No. No. No.

"It's already done." She said. "Say hello to Edward for me."

And she was gone.

I raced to my feet, spinning around in a frenzy of anxiety, fear and paranoia. Oh god. Oh god. What am I going to do? I have to move, have to keep moving, I thought as I tried to return rational thought to my brain. What do I do? What…

Taking off I tried to manoeuvre myself over the stones and tree branches in my way. As far as I could tell I was only bruised. No blood. That was a good thing. No blood. I would be okay. I just have to….

Tree, stone, stone, tree. It was the only level my brain could work at, taking in my surroundings to the best of my ability. I tried to avoid thinking about my friends in the vicinity who could find me at any moment and kill me. What would my parents think if I never came home? What would they do? Would Jacob find out?

So many thoughts, so little time.

If I could just stop. Just have a little more time. And that's when it happened. The worst possible thing I could have done. I tripped.

Crying out, I felt myself fall into the dirt, narrowly missing a face first fall into a large stone. If only my leg had been so lucky. Rolling over in the soil, I pulled my feet up and gazed down at my skin.

There, I watched as the smallest trickle of blood dripped slowly down my leg.

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**A/N: Okay, so there you guys go. Getting there. Hopefully this was enough tension for you. I'll get on the next chap ASAP. As for now, remember to review and let me know your thoughts on the recent developments. :)**

_**Next Time on Return to Meyer: All she needs is time. It's a race against nature and supernatural creatures with super speed. Stuck in the forests of Forks, surrounded by a coven of hungry vampires and acting as pretty much a homing beacon with the fresh cut on her leg, what will Ashley do when it seems like there just isn't any time left?**_

_**Next Time.**_


	14. Predator and Prey

**Disclaimer: Twilight related = Stephenie Meyer, Lost in Austen related = Guy Andrews. The amateur writer that links it all together = Me.**

**A/N: Here's another one! On a roll now. This chap might seem a little insane but you know, I wanted to increase the drama. Getting closer to the end now. As always, don't mind my bad grammar and hope you enjoy it.**

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**Return to Meyer**

**14. Predator and Prey**

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Okay, breathe Ashley. Breathe. These words repeated themselves over and over inside my head one after the other like a broken record. It was the only thing stopping me from going into a complete blind panic. The one in which your brain shuts down completely. I couldn't allow that to happen. If it did, I'd be worse than dead.

Or was there no fighting it anyway? Victoria had placed me here for a reason. She and I both knew that once a vampire caught the scent of a human while hunting it was almost impossible to stop them from tracking and killing that human. Edward would know my scent from a mile away but when he was using the animal part of his senses, predator and prey, I doubted it would make a difference whether he recognised my smell or not.

I pushed through branch after branch and avoided every stone, root and ditch I could as I made my way through the trees as fast as possible. The only way I could possibly get myself out of this situation was to find my way out of the trees. The problem was that I had no clue where I was meaning it could take days to find a way out in the direction I was heading. Still, I wasn't about to give up. I had to keep going.

A heavy stinging sensation shuddered up my body from the cut on my leg. The blood was still fresh and dribbling away down my leg. Knowing vampires, they'd find me soon. It was unavoidable despite how persistent I was in trying to find a way out.

A rustling of leaves from behind me sent me reeling. The waves of panic began to lap at the edges of my mind. My heart was beating so fast it had become a blur while my body had frozen completely. Normally I would have shrugged it the sound off as the wind, so sort of animal but not now. Not here. Not under these circumstances. Whoever it was hiding in the trees around me, they had tracked me down. And fast.

The only thing I could do was try to converse with whoever it was. Try to bring back a little human to their mind. Just enough to save my life.

I had no idea whether it would work or not but at the present time, it was the only idea I had and as far as I could see, I didn't have anything to lose and everything to gain.

"Hey," I called. "I don't know who you are but it's me, Ashley. Look, let's just…calm down. I'm not food remember. I'm a human being. I…you guys don't eat humans. You…" Oh god, shut up Ashley. Just shut up. You're not making any sense. Whoever it is, they're going to snap your neck and drain you dry. It doesn't matter what dribble you manage to babble out beforehand.

Another rustle of wind and undergrowth. Regaining some movement, I spun around and backed up. Crouched in front of me, lips pulled back in a feral snarl and his eyes focused on my neck was Edward. This isn't happening, I thought to myself. This isn't the way it's supposed to go. Yet somehow, this wasn't the dominant train of thought in my head. For some reason, all that seemed important was that whoever had said he looked like a mountain lion when he hunted had been right. The stance was….just right.

"Edward," I struggled to push out through my chocked up throat. "It's me. It's Ashley. You don't want to hurt me." I stepped back slowly, falling backwards as my ankle collided with a tree branch. "You know you don't. I'm not food remember." The reminders hit the air like nothing had been said. They just simply weren't reaching him. At the moment, the way his mind worked, he was the predator and I was the prey. Who cared whether he loved me or not. This was nature.

Yet, despite the logic of what I knew was true, the irrational part of me couldn't stop hoping against hope that somehow he could recognise me. That the love he had for me could outweigh his bloodlust.

Before I knew it, I was crying. "Edward, please. Please. You know it's me. You _know_ it. Victoria did this. Don't let her do this to you. Do this to _me_." The tears continued to fall, my voice pleading, begging for him to understand.

There was no moment of clarity or white light as Edward pounced. Not even the images of my life flashing before my eyes. There was simply a point in time where everything seemed to pause and I wondered, whether it would hurt.

I never found out the answer to my question.

Suddenly, the sound of a loud crash filled the air. The sound of two extremely heavy objects colliding with each other at speed. I opened my eyes, realising I'd shut them and found myself watching a scene I'd lost all hope of happening.

"Ashley," an urgent and anxious voice said to me, bringing me back to earth. "Ashley, look at me. Are you hurt?" I looked up and Alice's concerned and perfect face filled my view.

"Alice..?" I managed, dazed. Was I dead or was this really happening?

Over her voice I could hear Emmett and Carlisle. "Edward," I said. "What happened, Alice? You found me…you…" I glanced past her again, eyes fixed on the three vampires behind her. "Oh my god," I cried out, as a new wave of tears hit. "It's all her fault, why did she do it? Why?" I jabbered on unintelligently.

Alice's face creased in sorrow as she pulled me into a hug. "I couldn't stop it. I fell and…my leg and…" She followed my eyes down to my cut. I watched her breathing cease as her gaze narrowed on the sight of the drying crimson.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so, so sorry…Alice. I…" I continued rambling as the tears fell.

She placed her hands on my shoulder and shook me gently. "Ashley, calm down. It's not your fault. It's under control. I need you to come with me." She helped me to my feet, my knees almost giving way. Every little prick of panic, fear, guilt and despair had risen to the surface in one giant blow. Now it was bubbling overtime and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

It was as I got to my feet that the most horrible sound I have ever heard hit my ears. It wasn't a sob and it wasn't a yell but the sadness and despair it contained almost brought me to the ground. Forcing myself to look past Alice again, I shuddered. Kneeling on the ground, his head in his hands, Edward looked broken. To watch him was excruciating.

I wanted to call out to him, to reassure him that I knew it wasn't his fault, to comfort him. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't. "Edward, you can't stay here." Carlisle's voice of authority could be heard above everything else. "Ashley's fine. She will be taken care of. If you want to keep her safe, you need to leave now."

Realising that Edward was completely unresponsive, he turned to me. "Ashley, you're doing more harm than help right now. I need you to go with Alice." Somehow his voice got through to me. I nodded rigidly as I allowed Alice to lead me away. With a final glance over my shoulder, I closed my eyes and began hoping that at some point, once I got through enough, maybe one day, I'd stop feeling at all.

** **** **

"Thanks," I said unemotionally as Alice quickly bandaged up my leg. After bringing me back to her home, I'd found myself set up in the kitchen with Alice along with a nervous Rosalie and a disheartened Esme. Looking at their faces, I couldn't help but feel the guilt that everything they were experiencing was my fault. It was irrational and I knew it but I couldn't escape the feeling in the pit of my stomach and the number of 'what ifs' rushing through my head.

What if I hadn't of cut myself on that rock?

What if I'd tried harder to get through to Edward?

What if we had caught Victoria before all this?

And the biggest 'what if', what if we'd never killed James in the first place?

"Alice," I said, drawing her gaze back to me. "What happened? How did you…" I paused, a lump forming in my throat, "find me?"

Her face remained blank, "I'd fed on our drive home so there was no need for me to go hunting with the others. I remained here trying to get a reading on Victoria's future when I found that unsurprisingly her decisions kept changing so rapidly that I couldn't get an idea about anything." I could understand that. Victoria had used this little idea in Eclipse and it had worked well enough for a majority of the story.

"Your future on the other hand disappeared for a short time while you were on the phone with that dog friend of yours. Knowing Edward would be angry if I didn't check on you, I went to Charlie's to make sure you were alright. Your _friend_" the word was extremely forced. In a vampire's opinion, who would want to be friends with a werewolf? "was already there, accusing me of having something to do with an abrupt phone call he'd had with you a few minutes ago. It was then that I got a vision of you and Victoria. The Mutt left to contact the rest of his pack while I called Emmett and attempted to get to you before anyone else did." She finished this on a solemn note as though sad to be reminded of how things had turned out.

"Thank you, Alice. If you and Emmett hadn't gotten there when you did, I would probably…" the unspoken words hung in the air: _be dead._

Esme placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, Carlisle will talk with Edward and Jasper and Emmett will track Victoria. There was nothing you could have done to make things turn out differently. All we can do is wait and hope that everything sorts itself out."

"I know," I said, lowering my head to look at the tiled floor.

Rosalie's voice rang out, echoing round the room. "Alice? What is it?" Her concern for her husband rang in every single word. "Is it Emmett and Jasper?"

Alice shook her head, her eyes glassy and wide with images of another time and place. Her voice was distant and shocked. "It's Edward,"

I stood up instantly, "He's left. Carlisle tried to follow but he's too fast." She announced in disbelief.

"Where? Where's he going?" I almost yelled in fear. The only thing I could think of was the Volturi. Please don't let him be going to kill himself. Anything but that. "Alice he's not going to….he's not.." I stumbled over the words. She looked at me with perfect understanding. Like me, she had read the books and knew the ending I was refering to. The final sequence of New Moon where he had flown to Italy attempting to provoke the Volturi into ending his life. Only if it were to happen here and now, it would be very different. Just seeing me would not make everything better and save the day, it would make things worse.

Carlisle appeared as I finished my words, his features revealing nothing less than the deepest sense of grief and failure that I have ever seen. He blamed himself, it was the only conclusion I could come to. Like any other parent, Carlisle believed himself responsible for his son's actions.

"He's going to the Volturi, yes, but not for that reason. " Half relief and half panic filled my head. If not for that, why would he go there? What could he want from them?

"Then why?" I asked.

"Edward knows how eager Aro is to collect him and his gifts. Only now, he's going to let him." She answered.

Rosalie cut in, "Wait, what? Edward's going to Volterra. Why would he do that Alice?"

Alice paused, her face falling into a look of such sadness I could hardly bare it. She tried to speak but Carlisle saved her from having to say the words that would hurt everyone to hear. "If you had seen him as I had, you would understand the depth of hate he feels for himself." He crossed his arms tightly across his chest, his brows lowering. "I believe he does not feel he deserves an easy death for the deeds has committed over the years. He sees himself a monster, one that warrants living amongst those like him, feeling the continual weight of what he has done. "

My mouth dropped, "But he didn't hurt me. I'm fine!" I cried out, outraged not at Carlisle but Edward's ridiculous reasoning.

Carlisle nodded in understanding. "You and I both know that but in Edward's mind that is of no consequence. If it had not been for Alice and Emmett, he knows that he would have killed you and that is what is important."

The corners of my eyes began to prickle with hot tears of anger just waiting to be released. I held them back. If I started, I probably wouldn't be able to stop. "That's ridiculous." I yelled. "How can he think that way? He can't possibly know what would have happened. He can't join them just because of what_ could_ have been."

Now Carlisle looked interested, "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly has Edward told you about the Volturi?" Always the polite gentleman.

"Everything," It was the only simple way to put it.

Sighing, Carlisle raised a hand to his forehead. "As much as I would like to follow him and attempt to force him to come home, I cannot do that. I have always said that anyone in this family may come and go as they please. They are not my prisoners. If Edward wishes to join the Volturi then that is his decision as I once made my own years ago. There is nothing I can do but hope that he realises his mistake and comes back to us." It was a diplomatic response but not one that I was willing to accept.

"You can't. I can." I said, deciding.

Several choruses of "What?" sounded from around the room in unison.

Carlisle frowned, taking a step towards me. "Ashley, as much as I admire your courage and willingness to bring Edward home, I cannot let you do that. It would mean putting yourself under unnecessary risk. The Volturi do not take kindly to humans who are aware of what it is we are."

I lifted my chin up, "I know that but I'm sorry," I paused. "I can't just let him do this. They kill and torture and enjoy it. I won't let Edward stay with people like that." I was firm in my choice. No matter what anyone said, if Bella could go to Volterra knowing there was a possibility she could die trying to save Edward's life, then I could go there to save his soul. Even if he had doubts about its existence, there was no way I did.

"I've made up my mind. If any of you choose to come with me then that's fine but if not, I won't hold it against you." So for a few minutes I watched as the selective Cullens made up their minds until finally they spoke.

Secretly, I just hoped that this decision wasn't the one to get me killed.

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**A/N: Okay, I know, OTT but exciting, yes? I mean, come on. I had to bring the Volturi in. Miss a chance to write Aro and Jane? I don't think so. Anyway, new update soon. Like I said, I'm making up for all the missed time. Remember to review. :)**


	15. Flight

**Disclaimer: Twilight related = Stephenie Meyer, Lost in Austen related = Guy Andrews. The amateur writer that links it all together = Me.**

**A/N: Next chap is here. I'll keep it short and let you get right to it. Forgive the grammar and enjoy.**

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**Return to Meyer**

**15. Flight**

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About a day later, I found myself sitting in first class seats aboard a plane heading to Italy in the company of Emmett, Alice, Carlisle and somebody completely unexpected.

Victoria, according to sources, had disappeared yet again into the greenery that made up the Olympic peninsula. Hey, for all I knew, she could be in Canada. One thing I was sure of was that when she found out how her little plan had turned out, she would be back. And I doubted she'd care much for poetic justice. It would be snap, crack, suck. Or…well, something along those lines. Except this time, I wasn't about to let her take me by surprise.

A discussion with Jacob about this very subject had soon turned into something completely and utterly different.

"We lost her somewhere around the Canadian border." He admitted, running a hand backwards through his messy hair. The shadows under his eyes revealed his total lack of sleep and the level of exhaustion I knew he must be feeling.

I reached out, placing a hand on his cheek. "Jake, forget about Victoria for a bit, you need to get some rest." I raised an eyebrow to show my seriousness about the request. "Even little werewolves need their beauty sleep."

He smiled weakly as he looked down at my fingers. Feeling awkward, I removed them slowly. There was no need to make this harder for him than it already was. As much as I hated to admit it, even without sounding arrogant or conceited, somehow I knew Jacob had developed feelings for me at some point and it was the little things like this that were to blame. They had to stop. I was not into forming a triangle any time soon.

"We'll catch her Ash, we will." He promised me sincerely.

I nodded, "I know you will." Well, considering how things had turned out, it was a likely possibility under the present circumstances and it would definitely make things a whole lot easier. Hell, if it weren't for Edward taking off to Volterra like his fictional self, I'd probably hop on home just to avoid all the melodrama.

No, I reminded myself. You would never do that. You can't let things go back to the way they were when you left last time.

"Jacob, just so you know, I'm leaving town again." I told him.

A mixture of worry and confusion mingled across his face. "You mean you're going home?" he prodded, knowing full well that that wasn't the plan. Great, he was going to make me say it. I had been hoping to avoid the horrible conversation Bella and Jacob had had in both book and the movie.

Guess not.

"Well, not exactly," I explained sheepishly.

His expression darkened quickly, "You're going somewhere with_ them_ aren't you. Those _bloodsuckers _you love." I cringed at the term as usual. I really hated it when he called them that. It was so…blunt.

"Yes," I answered truthfully.

"Where?" All business, no emotion.

I sighed, trying to find a way to explain what was going on to him in a way he could understand. A way in which events played out so that he wouldn't want to try and kill Edward. Not that it would be any different from the usual hostility between them. "Err…I'm going to Italy."

This took him aback. "Italy? Why the hell are you going there?"

"To bring back Edward,"

Jacob groaned, "Of course it would have something to do with _him_."

"You know you could call him Edward, it's not that difficult. It's just one teensy little word. It won't kill you or downgrade you any macho points." I shot at him scowling.

He ignored me. "Why is he there in the first place?" he asked. "Not that I really care." Was added on as he folded his arms and leant against a nearby tree.

Oh dear. Here it comes. To lie or not lie, that is the question. "There was this little misunderstanding that got totally blown out of proportion. I just need to find Edward and get it all straightened out." I offered vaguely. Sure, if you called almost getting your throat ripped out by the man you love a misunderstanding.

Jacob gave me a look, his chin lowering into a disbelieving glare. "Ashley…" he warned.

I rolled my eyes, "It's complicated." It was then that I realised. I'd become one of those sappy, stupid and naïve female protagonists who used explanations like 'It's complicated' and 'Just trust me'. That was not good. I am a strong and independent girl. Not some lovesick, whiny idiot. I am no Mary Sue. Stand up for yourself you silly girl.

"Jake, it's none of your business where I'm going or why. You're my friend, not my keeper. You can trust that I know what I'm doing and come along to give me a hand or you can step aside and let me do what I need to do." I said loudly and confidently.

He raised an eyebrow before looking down at my feet as though waiting for something. "What?" I snapped.

Shaking his head with a grin, "Nothing, I was just waiting to see if you were going to stamp your foot too."

I glared, "Funny. Very funny."

He sighed, shrugging his shoulders as though finally making a hard decision he thought he'd regret later. "Okay then, fine."

Doing a double take, I stepped back. "Wait a minute, what?" I produced garbled.

"I'm coming with you." He clarified.

My mouth dropped. "Hold on. I didn't actually mean that. You can't come along, you hate vampires. You'll get hurt, you'll…"

"I'll, I'll, I'll..." He cut in mimicking me. "Look Ash, I can take care of myself. And you for that matter. You want to go to Italy then fine, I'm coming with you. You get into enough trouble as it is."

Somehow the fact that Jacob was planning to join me in the city home to an underground family of royal and ancient vampires was having trouble registering inside my brain. What? What? What?

"Jake, you can't come. There is no_ way_ in the world that I'm letting you come to Italy with me."

** **** **

"Ash, should we be expecting any free nuts anytime soon?" Jacob's voice interrupted my musings as he reclined comfortably in the seat beside me, a hostile look crossing his face every time he forced himself to look at the row across from us. Alice ignored Jacob's aggression, her eyes fixed casually on the fashion magazine in her lap and a pair of expensive sunglasses in one hand. Emmett, on the other hand, was less agreeable, a mirror image of Jacob's expression across his features. I smiled as Carlisle quietly whispered something to him.

Only how many more hours of this would they have to endure?

The moment I was finally allowed off the plane, I felt like jumping for joy. After spending so many hours stuck in the middle of a silent vampire/werewolf Mexican standoff, plus the connection time, the freedom was amazing. Running as fast as I could towards the exit I stopped as Carlisle pulled up in suave Italian car. "Please don't tell me you just stole that." I commented suspiciously as I slid into the backseat beside Alice and Jacob.

Carlisle chuckled from the front seat. "Of course not Ashley, it's a rental car. Why would you think it was stolen?"

My only answer was a hard look at Alice who smiled guiltily. "And I would really have loved a chance to drive that Porsche." She said wistfully to herself. I laughed quietly while Jacob merely sneered, clearly uncomfortable with the amount of sweet vampirish smells clearly filling the car.

Countryside flashed by at fast speeds as Carlisle manoeuvred the Ferrari as quickly as he possibly could. As much as I tried to calm myself down, I found that I spent most of the drive sitting anxiously on the edge of my seat, wishing that somehow we could get there faster. The moment the beautiful old buildings came into view through the windscreen, I stopped and thought as a question hit me. After all the drama and stress getting here, I hadn't once stopped to consider what it was I would actually say when I spoke to Edward. Its okay honey, vampire boyfriends try to kill their human girlfriends _all_ the time. It's absolutely no big deal. Yeah, right. More important still, would he even want to speak to me?

I mentally reprimanded myself, what was I thinking? Of course he would speak with me. After what had happened, the least he could do was give me some time to talk. To explain. To convince him to come back. But knowing Edward as I did, I couldn't come up with a single reason I seriously believed had any chance of convincing him to come back to Forks with me. Not one. Sure, he'd told me he loved me but was that enough? Somehow I doubted it. The way I saw things, it could only make things worse.

Closing my eyes, an image appeared inside my mind. Edward, dressed in a long black cloak with a hood, surrounded by old stones and glowing candles, his eyes a bright crimson. Imagination or not, the scene terrified me. But there was no way it could possibly be true. Edward may have believed that he'd let himself and me down but he would never, ever do anything like that to hurt Carlisle again. Not after what he'd done during the twentieth century.

"We're almost there," Carlisle stated, shattering the possibilities rushing through my mind and reminding me of reality. My eyelids flickered open to reveal the winding streets of Volterra. Sure, I'd been to Italy before, to places with architecture very similar but somehow everything seemed different now. Like I was in some sort of dream state. As though I was still staring at that picture on my Italian calendar with the subheading Volterra and thinking, that's where Stephenie Meyer set the end of New Moon.

Carlisle parked the car, his hands resting silently on the steering wheel as sunlight shone down on the stone streets outside. In the absence of all the people I'd imagined when thinking about St. Marcus day, I was again reminded of just how different my story was from Bella's. I wasn't here to fight through crowds of red to prove to Edward I wasn't dead, I was here to purposely gain an audience with the Volturi, to reason with Edward instead. And to endure it all, I had brought a werewolf. God, how could I be so stupid.

Looking around a second time, I found that Jacob and I were now completely alone inside the leather covered Ferrari. I got out and squinted as I was blinded by the morning sunshine. "Walk through the square and we will meet you near the clock tower. Unfortunately we'll have to take the longer way around." Carlisle told me as he and the others stood hidden in the shadows of several nearby buildings. Jake slid out next to me, clearly happy to be out in the fresh air.

"Okay," I nodded, agreeing. "We'll see you soon." Taking Jacob by the hand, I began dragging him down the street and across the court yard. Glancing up my eyes found the large clock tower, its hands slowly moving around the face, counting down every second of time. To our right was a fountain, the one I remember Bella having to fight her way through in order to reach Edward in time.

"Ashley," Jacob stopped moving, frozen in the middle of the square, ignoring the several groups of people who were shooting us odd looks. "Wait just a second, I need you to explain what's going on. I think I've been patient long enough. I deserve to know what I'm getting into."

I groaned in frustration. Why now? Why here? Why…ever? "Jake, I haven't got time for this."

He grabbed my arm and dragged me back, "No. I need to know." He was firm. It was not a request.

Seeing no other way, I decided to give him something. Anything to let me keep going. "Okay, the cliff notes version. This is Volterra, home to a group of vampires called the Volturi who are so old and powerful that they're basically vampire royalty. Keeping up with me so far?" I babbled out at a million miles an hour.

"I think so," he nodded.

"Back in Forks something happened and Edward was so disappointed in himself that he took off to join them. I'm here to convince him to come back." I finished before trying to run off again. He grabbed me a second time and pulled me beside him.

"What Jake? I've told you everything. Can't we just go? Please." I begged .

His lips formed a thin line, his eyes hardening in preparation for the answer to the question he was about to ask. "Not until you tell me what this _incident _was. Why did he come here?" Anger flooded his voice, hurt, frustration all at once.

I bit my lower lip. This was the one question I didn't want to answer. I couldn't tell him. He would try to kill them and he would fail. They would pull him apart piece by piece. "Ashley," he said, his eyes looking directly into mine, into the part of me that served as a reminder of the honesty that I normally showed him. The trust between us.

"Alice didn't tell you what Victoria was planning to do with me once she'd taken me, right?" I asked awkwardly.

He shook his head. "No, she just took off looking all worried."

"Well," I paused, trying to force the words out. "When Victoria took me from Charlie's she ran and left me in the middle of the woods somewhere. She put me there because she knew that after the trip to Alaska, some of the Cullens were hunting in the area." A snarl escaped Jacobs lips as the rest of the puzzle pieces fell into place one by one.

"I was alone, tripped and cut my leg on a rock. It started to bleed and….and….Edward found me." Rippling shudders had begun to rock his body while an anger deeper and more powerful than anything ran off him in waves. Realising what was happening, I jumped into action.

"No Jake, no! Relax. I need you to calm down." His breathing came out uneven and heavy while his body continued to shake. "You control the wolf, not the other way around. I'm perfectly fine. No wounds except for where I tripped. It wasn't his fault. He was doing what he does by nature, I was put in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you want to blame someone, blame Victoria!" My voice had raised several octaves and was now filled with panic. He couldn't change. Not here in the middle of the square, watched by all these staring eyes.

"You have to control it Jake. Breathe." I reminded him. I put my hands of his shoulders, forcing him to come closer to me. "Look at me, Jacob. Look at me! If you do this, you'll hurt me. Not Edward. _You_. I know you can get it under control. You just have to calm down." His eyes found mine again and listening to my words, the shudders began to cease. I breathed a sigh of relief as he regained his composure where as the anger remained clear inside his eyes.

"I can't take you in there. Not being what you are, knowing what you know. I don't want you to lose it." I reasoned calmly, trying to express my protectiveness.

"I won't," he snapped venomously.

"Yes, you will. I don't want you to get hurt. Please, do this for me. Stay here until we get back. Please. I'm asking you to let me the Cullens handle this. I trust them and you trust me don't you?"

Grudgingly, he nodded briefly. "Then please," He seemed to weaken at the word despite the fire of hate blazing in his irises. "Please," I repeated one last time before his shoulders lowered in acceptance.

I walked towards him and tightly wrapped my arms around his neck, feeling the warmth of his skin hit me in one go. He held me close to him as I breathed in his woody scent. Pulling his mouth close to my ear he whispered eight words.

With a final squeeze I turned away from him and took off at a run towards the far alley. The one that would lead me down. Down beneath the city to the patrons of Volterra. Down to Edward.

So with Jacob's words ringing in my ears, I slipped quietly and confidently into the shadows.

"_If they hurt you, I'll kill them all."_

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**A/N: There you go. Just so you know, I'm going to Melbourne for a couple of days meaning I won't be posting again until next week sometime. Still, before I go, I'll try and get some more writing done tonight. Still, as always, let me know your thoughts and review.**

_**Next Time on Return to Meyer: Delving deep into the tunnels beneath Volterra, Ashley and the Cullens find themselves in the company of the famous Volturi. As the family test Ashley's resistance to their gifts, what will Aro do with the information he finds out about Ashley's double dimensional door?**_

_**And will Ashley be able to convince Edward to forgive himself enough to return to Forks? **_

_**Next Time.**_


	16. Pain

**Disclaimer: Thank you Stephenie Meyer for your Twilight world and to Guy Andrews for the concept itself. Without them, there would be no story.**

**A/N: Back from Melbourne and here is the chap I was working on before I left. Maybe I'll give you a little break after this because I've got some school work that is feeling DEEPLY neglected. Anyway enjoy and please don't hate me for my laziness in terms of editing. **

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**Return to Meyer**

**16. Pain**

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Shadows fell across the floor of the wide alleyway, stones of different shapes and sizes covering its expanse. Towards the end of the street my eyes caught sight of a wide grate that somehow sent a series of uncomfortable shivers through my body. Without the sun, the breeze had turned this area of town into a cool and uninviting piece of scenery.

"Ashley," A voice said warmly from beside me. I flinched at the sound, found off guard as Carlisle, Emmett and Alice stepped into view. I had no idea how long they'd been standing there but either way, I was relieved to have the company. They did not ask about Jacob and I was glad for it. It wasn't a subject I was eager to broach on my own.

Placing a friendly hand on my arm, Carlisle drew me aside. "Now, Ashley, as much as I know you must want to question and speak with the Volturi, I ask that you let me attempt to converse with them first. The last time we met, we were on good terms as far as I am concerned and I would appreciate it if things remained civil." His expression was sympathetic and understanding. Knowing that I was out of my league and if I wanted things to go well, I should let take care of things.

"Okay," I agreed with a grimace. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach about what was to come. Whatever it was Carlisle had planned, I doubted things would remain civil once Emmett got pissed off enough.

Stepping in front of me in a flash of movement, the few Cullen family members formed a small barrier in front of me, their faces turned towards the grate I had noticed earlier. Looking through the gap between them, I found we had been joined by two other figures. Androgynous cloaks and perfectly carved features stared back at us, arrogant smiles painted on both their faces. One male was large and muscular the other shorter and less so. If I had to make a guess on their identities, using the novel as a guide, the only two names that came to mind were Felix and Demetri. I'd forgotten which description matched which name but that information was extremely low on my list of priorities.

"Carlisle," The larger one addressed him. "Aro has been waiting for you to visit."

"Felix, Demetri," he nodded to both in turn politely.

The greeting between both parties could not have been chillier if they'd tried. Neither wore a smile and body positions were stiff and territorial. Somehow I felt like I was watching through a glass window, unable to speak or alter anything around me. Merely watch and hope that things didn't turn violent as I was the weaker species.

"I expect you know why we're here." Carlisle clarified in a cross between both a question and a statement.

Both guards grinned, "Yes." Was their simple answer.

Emmett cracked his knuckles loudly by his side, revealing his agitation. Carlisle ignored this.

"I wish to speak with Aro, Marcus and Caius." He stated clearly. A demand but still extremely polite.

The smaller raised a brow, amused. "Why do you think we were sent to greet you?" he asked as though the answer were obvious.

Unable to remain silent, Emmett joined in. "Why else? To make sure we keep in line." He retorted with a trace of confrontation in his tone.

The guards' grins widened as the vocal acknowledgement of the fact, neither supporting nor denying the claim. Their actions spoke for themselves. "Now, now, no need to become…disagreeable." One commented tauntingly.

"If it becomes necessary," Emmett said, stepping forward. Carlisle reached out a hand stopping him. A cautious look reminded him of what was important. Slowly, Emmett stepped back, his face glowering menacingly.

Suddenly two other figures clothed in similar dress entered the alley, a boy and a girl, their angelic faces complimenting each other in every way possible. Two more sets of bright red eyes stared back at them, taking in the two groups quizzically.

"You were asked to simply greet and guide our guests to the throne room, yet here you still stand making irrelevant conversation." The girl with the apathetic voice commented, her pupils fixed on Carlisle. Jane.

"Aro is waiting," the boy said, equally emotionless. Clearly her brother Alec. Their very presence seemed to exude danger and tension.

"Alec, Jane," Another simple and cool greeting.

At that moment, I watched as Jane's eyes glanced past Carlisle and found them frozen on me. Wide and unblinking, she watched, examining what view she had of me. "So this is the human girl." She paused as though waiting for someone to contradict her before turning away. Together, hand in hand, both brother and sister lead the way down into the sewers below. With an uncomfortable look at Carlisle, Alice went next. Carlisle gestured for me to follow. Peering down into the black with a look of unease I turned back to him. "It's alright, Alice will catch you." He promised reassuringly. Not waiting for another chance to second guess his words, I stepped forward over the gap and fell into the darkness until I pair of arms wound themselves around me. Alice let me down, keeping a light hand on my lower arm to reassure me of her presence in an area where, unlike the rest of them, I couldn't see. I may as well be walking with my eyes shut completely. After a few moments, Alice began to lead me down the tunnel, guiding me to avoid any obstacle that could trip me up. I was grateful for her help.

Finally we reached the end of the tunnel and I listened as a door swung open. Light again came into view, illuminating the new room. Artistic and old fashioned furniture decorated the room while a series of large candles hung from the walls and ceiling. Very….artsy dungeon. Very…Harry Potter.

A woman with brown hair sitting at a desk stood as we approached and said something warmly in Italian as we passed. Gianna perhaps? The twins walked – well sort of glided – forward past the desk until they reached a set of large doors. They pressed forwards on them, swinging both open in a grand entrance. I mean, who opens two doors? Only those who want to draw attention.

I followed silently, shivering slightly in my summer dress at the drop in temperature. Large stone blocks, decorative artwork and three thrones set atop a set of marble stairs. Several guards stood at various parts of the room, each wearing their cloaks and hoods which set their faces in a darker gloom. Feeling insignificant and even a little frightened I continued to walk while Jane and Alec took their place by their masters' sides.

"Your guests, Master." Jane said respectfully to the three pale and chalky looking vampires. Each watched us with different expressions ranging from complete boredom to uncontrollable excitement. The man in the middle got to his feet, his hands pressed together in glee.

"Carlisle, my old friend! It's been a while." He announced. By the tone of his voice, this could only be one person. Aro. The eccentric and at times extremely excitable vampire.

"Hello Aro, Caius, Marcus." Carlisle addressed each vampire in turn and was greeted with equal respect. Clearly Carlisle had been right when he'd said that they'd left on friendly terms.

"I had a feeling I would be expecting a visit from you soon." He admitted, a smile across his face. Slowly he held out his pale hand, waiting. Seemingly happy to oblige, Carlisle reached out to touch his fingers, allowing Aro to read his thoughts. I was happy knowing he wouldn't be able to read my own thoughts because having someone hear every one that had ever crossed my mind would have been the most embarrassing thing I could possibly think of. My thoughts were personal and not to be shared by anyone else unless I voluntarily chose to describe them verbally.

"Alice," he greeted her by name, again reaching for the direct contact that he so desperately required. "Such a wonderful gift," he muttered to himself sadly. "Such a pity,"

Emmett followed soon after. After he processed each person, his eyes finally turned to me. "Ah," he exclaimed with a sigh. "Now, you must be Ashley." I bit my lip as everyone in the room turned to look at me. The attention overwhelmed me.

"Yes," I answered quietly just hoping we could change topics quickly.

"I'm sorry but after everything I've heard, I feel as though I know you." He explained. Okay, great. You think you know me but in truth, you don't. "I would provide an explanation for my actions but as far as I'm aware, you are already quite knowledgeable about us and our gifts. In turn, I have heard about your…resistance as it is."

I nodded awkwardly. "Would you mind seeing if you are also immune to my abilities?" he asked politely. It was a valid question but I doubted a refusal would go down well with anyone. Unable to find my voice I simply held out hand to touch his. I watched his face carefully for a change in reaction. Out of nowhere he chuckled.

"Astonishing, absolutely astonishing," he said brightly, releasing my fingers. "I would ask Jane to perform a similar experiment but you and I both know what the conclusion would be." The wink he shot me felt similar to how I'd imagine a stack of mental bricks colliding with the top of my head.

Oh my god.

When Edward arrived he must have touched Aro as Alice had a few moments ago. Their every thought and desire would have flooded through over the channel with no restrictions. Every conversation, every piece of information and every memory would have been displayed for a stranger. The books, the double dimensional door, me. Everything had been transmitted to Aro.

They knew. They knew everything.

Aro turned away and walked back towards the altar, his smile still fixed in place. "As much as I would love to simply talk and catch up, certain matters must be addressed." He clapped his hands together commandingly. "Edward," he called, looking towards one of the hooded guards on the side of the room. The figure approached briskly before stopping and casually touching Aro's hand with his own. Once this had been done he threw back his hood in a flourish revealing Edward's tussled bronze hair and pale skin. A sudden burst of relief set in at the sight of him and I found myself weak at the knees as the amount of stress I hadn't known I was feeling really hit me.

"Your family has come to make sure of your wellbeing, that is, after what happened." I stared intently at Edward, noticing the slight flinch he had tried to hide at the reminder in Aro's words.

"Yes," Edward answered stiffly, avoiding our eyes.

"Have you anything to say, to reassure them?" Aro pressed.

Edward shifted his weight uncomfortably, his darkened eyes hard. "Nothing except to say that I am fine and that I suggest they leave."

This hurt more than anything. He wouldn't look at me. He wouldn't even speak to me. You know what, as much as I respect Carlisle, screw the non-speaking thing.

"No," I said loudly and firmly.

Several heads looked up at me, taken by surprise. "You will speak when spoken to." Caius said, using his voice for the first time since we had entered the room.

I resumed biting my lip. "No, no, Caius. She has the right to speak as she wishes," Aro said, holding up a hand.

Finding my voice again, I looked directly at Edward, ignoring everyone else in the room. It was him and me. "I need to talk to you," I said, a trace of pleading in my voice. I was scared, shivering and hurt. If he wouldn't talk to me directly, I'd just have to make him. There was no way I came all this way to have a glance at him and leave.

"I'm not leaving until I do," I paused, trying to control the unease growing inside me. "But not here," I looked around the throne room. As much as I might like to imagine they weren't there, I couldn't say the things I needed to in front of these people.

The room fell into silence as everyone waited for Edward's reply. Unable to take anymore of his inability to even look at me, I snapped. "Edward, after everything we've been through, the least you could do is look at me," I snapped angrily.

He looked up, his hurt and steel like stare hitting me. "No," he answered firmly. "I need you to leave." Hurt and rejection swept through me like wildfire as I struggled to resist the urge to break down and cry. Why did he have this power over me? How was it fair?

I knew the reason why he wouldn't speak with me. He was afraid of being alone in a room with me. The trust in himself being around me had been broken and he wasn't willing to take any chances.

He turned around and begun heading up the side of the marble stairs. Before I knew what I was doing, I was blurting out words before anyone could stop me. "I'll take you home with me," I called loudly. I was sick of this fictional crap. I wasn't going to allow myself to let him simply exit my life again. Not again. This was the only true resolution to all of our problems. If he came with me, there would be no vampires with grudges out to kill us, no war with a werewolf pack, no reason for his apprehension and we could be normal. _He_ could be normal.

Edward froze, his back turned. "I'll take them all with me. Rose, Emmett, Alice, Jasper, Carlisle and Esme. Everyone. I want you to come with me." I ignored the confused stares fixed on me by Carlisle, Emmett, Marcus and Caius.

"Explain this," Marcus said, his bored tone in place yet his words rang with a sort of authority I usually associated with Carlisle. I ignored him. His understanding was of no consequence to me. All I cared about was Edward.

"Edward, please," I said, using the word that had he'd never been able to resist. Slowly he turned around to face me. "I want you to come with me." Edward glanced from me to Alice and intent look on his face as if asking an inaudible question. Alice shook her head ever so slightly beside me in answer, a hopeful look on her face. Edward remained strained but a sense of acceptance appeared to wash over him.

He looked at Aro, "May I have a minute?"

Aro nodded, "Of course," Then again, why should he care? He'd simply touch Edward when he returned and hear his every thought as though he were there during the conversation anyway.

"Ashley," he said my name softly as he made his way to the doors. I followed in silence. We walked past Gianna and down the halls until we reached an empty room, again decorated in similar antique style. I clutched my sides, trying to retain some warmth but the shivers kept on coming. When I had looked up, Edward was facing me from the opposite side of the room, trying to put as much distance between us as possible.

I rolled my eyes, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. "Nice, Edward. Thanks. If you were attempting to make me feel more like a disease, then job well done. If you wanted to talk at such a long distance we may as we have stayed in there." Anger was exuded within every word, I was tired of this.

"This is for your safety. Not mine." He clarified coolly.

Another laugh, "Thanks because I feel so much better,"

After everything about this conversation that I had planned and envisioned, this hadn't been it. Insults and resentment were not what I had imagined but somehow it was all that was coming to mind.

"Tell me, honestly." I began again. "Looking at me, here and now, do you want to kill me?" It was a simple question and all it required was an equally simple answer. He remained silent. "Edward, do you want to kill me?" I repeated more forcefully.

"Yes," he answered resentfully. The shock of the answer was hard to take but I buried it quickly.

"But no more than usual, right?"

A long pause. "Yes,"

I sighed in relief. "Then why is this any different? In the books you did so many things with Bella and she smelt a hundred times better to you than I did. Hell, you even slept together so why is it different with me?"

"It's different because I never purposely hunted her!" he yelled, his temper finally breaking through.

"That first day, when you were starving and imagined all the different ways you could break her neck as well as the time it would take before anyone in the classroom realised what was going on?" I yelled back, exasperatingly.

"That isn't the same," he shot back, taking a few steps to his left, a hand running backwards through his hair.

"Why not? So, you're saying you purposely stick me in the middle of an area you knew you were hunting in?" I paused for a minute in mock thought, "No, wait. That was Victoria." I gave him a hard look. "Oh, it must have been you who caused my leg to start bleeding." Another pause. "No, that was me." I placed my hand under my chin. "Okay, help me out here Edward because I'm really trying to see how you were responsible for the situation. You're a vampire! That must be it." I exclaimed. "Now who was responsible for that? Carlisle. So are going to blame this entire fiasco on Carlisle?"

"Don't be ridiculous." He commented in a low tone.

"Then you stop suggesting that this is your fault. Running off to Italy and joining the Volturi, worrying your family and punishing yourself, now _that _is your fault. You have never, _never _purposely hunted me." I reasoned rapidly, my voice climbing in pitch and volume with every sentence while the prickling sensation of tears returned to my eyes. If this argument continued, I wouldn't be able to stop them falling. Already I could feel my throat clogging up.

"I could have killed you," Five words. That was it. Yet, within those words there was so much guilt, sadness and self loathing that I couldn't understand how someone could contain it all. Finally we had reached the underlying problem with Edward's logic.

The emotion in his face and voice provoked the unwanted response in me I had been trying to avoid. Unable to restrain them anymore, tears began to fall slowly down my cheeks. At the sight of my crying, a new flash of pain whipped across his face. How pathetic am I? I thought to myself. I'm standing in the middle of a stone room, freezing my butt off and having a cry because my boyfriend doesn't want to kill me.

"But you didn't. I'm here, aren't I?" He opened his mouth to speak, to throw some twisted fact of life back in face as an argument but I stopped him, holding up a hand. "We have the same problem every single day. Every time you touch me, every time I enter the room. It's never stopped us before. I've read the novels, I've spent time with you and I'm not naïve. I've always known what you're physically capable of."

Edward lowered his gaze, a deeper sadness filling his face. "But," I continued. "It's what you're mentally and emotionally capable of that's important." Ignoring the space he'd set out between us, I walked across the room towards him. His body seemed to go stiff again, as though someone had suddenly flicked a switch.

Reaching up I put a hand on his cheek. "And personally, despite what you think you will or will not do, I believe that you would never hurt me. I know that you could but you won't."

He leaned into my hand, reaching up his own to take mine between his fingers. The added cold from his skin sent a new wave of shivers down my body.

"You're cold." He observed simply, my fingers twitching entwined with his. Moving back, I watched as he slipped off his cloak and placed it around me. The velvet covered me like a thick blanket, warming my body and sheltering me from the cold and unhomely surroundings. Beneath the cloak, Edward was fully clothed in black. The fabric, like the tux he'd worn on the night I'd left, made him look even more otherworldly than ever.

Something important entered my mind, something I knew needed to be brought up but looking at Edward, I found them exit the thought process as quickly as they had entered. His dark eyes filled my senses and I began to wonder just how hard being this close to me was when he was hungry and after what had happened. "You haven't….?" I trailed off, still looking at his eyes. He knew what I was referring to.

He shrugged, "If Carlisle could manage to live with the Volturi yet still retain his ideals about eating humans over many years, then couldn't I?"

"Well, I don't want to make this harder for you so I'll just…" I began moving away to put myself at a more comfortable distance when I was tugged lightly back.

His arms wrapped around my waist, his forehead touching mine. I breathed in his smell, feeling safe immersed in it. It was familiar and comforting. Then finding my voice again, I spoke at a low volume. "Edward, once we get back to Forks, I'm leaving again. For good this time," I told him seriously. His stood frozen in the same position. "But, I meant what I said before. I want you to come with me this time. I'll take them all with me."

As hard as it had been to get started, now I could feel the ramble really start to take off. "Rose and Emmett could finally have kids, Jasper wouldn't have to worry about trying to resist human blood so hard all the time, Carlisle and Esme could stay in one place at one hospital and none of you would ever have to go through high school again." Short rapid breaths followed the words as they followed out continuously without stopping.

"And you," Now I stopped. "You could get a university medical degree you could actually use, become a doctor. You could be…. happy." I finished simply as the main purpose of my rant came into play. That was it. The main reason I wanted him to come through. Even as much as I wanted it for myself, I wanted him to be happy. I wanted him to not have to worry about killing people anymore, to be able to stop moving every couple of years, to finally be able to settle down and be happy.

I had no idea what he was thinking, no clue as to what he was feeling and the silence felt as though it lasted hours. Paranoia flooded my mind, what if he no longer wanted to come back with me? What if he wanted to stay a vampire? I mean, I couldn't possibly fault him for that. It was his choice. His life. Maybe he couldn't see the possibilities of life like I could. He'd been a vampire for so long.

Yet, being as selfish as I was, I couldn't help thinking how that choice would hurt me so much I could hardly stand to imagine it. Why couldn't he just answer me and put me out of all this misery? He knew how wild my imagination could be if I let it go.

"I won't speak for my family but as for myself," he paused agonisingly, giving me the impulse to scream at him to hurry up. "You know there is no life for me here without you," he told me as his eyes softened, looking at me in the way that I loved. The way that made me feel like I was the most amazing thing in his world.

"The day you walked into that Biology classroom with your…childish excitement," he grinned at the memory, "and your inexplicable comments about places and people you'd never seen before, there was nothing I could do to resist you." I could feel the heat begin to sweep over my face as the embarrassment as I tried to look away. He reached up, forcing my eyes back to him. "I didn't know just how long I'd been sleepwalking through life until I met you. Ashley, you changed me and the day you left, those differences were so irreversible, I could never go back to the way life was before knowing what I knew. There was something missing. Something irreplaceable. And I refused to want to feel or see anything without it." He sighed, again running his hand back through his hair.

The feeling to run and hide under something until he finished speaking was extremely strong. These speeches were always my favourite part of the novels I read, the moment you realised just how important one character was to another and now here I was, with it all happening to me and I just wanted to hide from the attention.

"Then you came back into my life, even after you had rejected me and it was the most wonderful feeling I could ever have imagined. Yet, to see you there on my couch, bruised and battered. It was excruciating. "Knowing that I could have stopped it if you had just let me come with you as I'd asked, was harder. It was why I was so distant with you. I was angry with your decision.

"Just as you told me what happened in the forest was not by any fault of mine, the same goes for how you returned to Forks. I won't forget my part in what could have happened but I can't take credit for the events that led up to the situation itself. Everything leads back to Victoria. Ever since James, it has always been Victoria." Anger had begun to build slowly within his voice as he worked up to an important realisation, what I'd been trying to explain to him since we'd entered the room.

"I will come with you Ashley," The words I most wanted to hear flowed through his lips and I could feel my heart leap at the sound but it soon plummeted as they were followed by several others. "But only once we've dealt with Victoria."

I nodded, the small moment of happiness returning as ignored the final sentiment. "You'll come? You're coming back with me?" I repeated.

He smile my favourite crooked smile as he nodded, finally the same emotion filled his eyes. "Didn't you hear me? You are my life. Without you, nothing in this world makes sense to me." Slowly and tenderly he leant in a kissed me. My heart raced beneath my chest at the sensation and I could barely contain the excitement bursting to get out of me.

As we separated I laughed, "What?" He asked curiously.

"No similes about a meteor, stars and space?" I teased.

He chuckled before shrugging casually. "I prefer to write my own lines,"

** **** **

We returned to the throne room, faced with silence. Not waiting for an invitation, Edward grudgingly held out his hand to Aro who took it gratefully. Part of me was hurt that our private conversation had to become public display but seeing where we were, was there really much of a choice?

Aro clapped his hands together, mirroring my earlier excitement. "Ah! Edward and Ashley together again! It is good to see that all is well." He exclaimed, sending my eyebrows sky high. Alice looked relieved, Carlisle content while Emmett simply continued to eye two of the larger Volturi guards, dying for a fight.

Alice looked at Edward's cloak around me and sighed. Clearly it was not an appealing fashion piece to someone of her stylish nature.

"Now, Edward, I will assume that you will be returning with your family?" Aro asked.

Edward stepped forward, his tone respectful. "Yes,"

From behind him Caius spoke, "If that is so, you do know that as you are not holding up your end of our bargain, we will cease to hold up ours." He warned Edward. I looked at Edward, confused. What in the world had he asked of the Volturi?

"I understand," he replied.

"Then we have much to discuss," Aro said, an eager gleam in his eyes. The worry that had been forgotten from before suddenly returned to me. "Ashley," he said softly.

I looked up expectantly, hoping against hope that he wasn't about to bring up the subject I thought he was. Just when I'd thought we were close to leaving, something else was to be discussed.

"Please tell us everything there is to know about this double dimensional door."

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**A/N: You knew it was coming but as for everything else, I haven't done a long chapter in a while so I thought it was about time. Hopefully it didn't drag on too much for you. Remember to review and let me know how you think the story is going. I can't change things or improve them unless I know about them.**

_**Next Time on Return to Meyer: It's time for all of Ashley's little secrets to come into the light but with the holders of this information being the Volturi, the biggest question is, what will they choose to do with it?  
Next Time.**_


	17. Possibilities

**Disclaimer: Thank you Stephenie Meyer for your Twilight world and to Guy Andrews for the concept itself. Without them, there would be no story.**

**A/N: Back again. I know, long time no writing. Anyway, here's the latest chapter. I know, it may seem it a little melodramatic and odd but do bear with me. Hopefully it should pick up again soon. And glad to see you've come back even after my extremely long no post period. I blame year 12 studies but as it's our Easter school holidays, maybe I'll get some writing done. Oh, and as always, forgive my laziness and unwillingness to edit. So here it is, enjoy.**

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**Return to Meyer**

**17. Possibilities**

I stood gaping up at the elegantly clothed vampires eyeing me intently, trying to think my way out of the current situation. The problem was that only two words were coming to mind and they weren't exactly what you'd call helpful.

Oh crap.

Words tried to force themselves through my lips but simply came out sounding like some sort of weird gargling noise.

C'mon, Ashley. Speak.

More ogling. Say something. ANYTHING.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked slowly.

Aro paused, a smile reappearing on his face. "We are fascinated by the very idea that such a thing could exist as well as the possibilities it may bring." He explained.

This made me uneasy. I glanced at Edward whose expression seemed to mirror my thoughts. What did he mean by the possibilities it may bring? I wasn't sure what they were hoping to get out of the link between worlds but considering who I was talking to, I doubted it was anything good.

"I don't think telling you would be a good idea." This didn't sound like such a smart thing to say but at least it was honest. It wasn't like they could force me to tell them, that is if they were really as "pleasant" as they wanted to make themselves out to be.

It was not Aro who replied this time. "That would be unwise," Caius commented, his voice cold. Clearly they weren't big on the word 'no'.

Edward altered his position beside me into a more protective stance at this comment. He wasn't taking any chances, especially with Felix and Demetri eyeing the scene lustfully.

"Caius, these are our guests. Ashley is at liberty to say what she wishes. There is no need for threats." Aro said calmly.

I sighed, "Besides, the information is worthless to you." I added for good measure.

Now Marcus interrupted, "Why is that?"

Before I could think the answer through, the words burst from my mouth at full speed. "Because it only seems to open up for me," I froze, realising my mistake. Edward shot me a hard look which I returned with an apologetic one. Now I was in for it. They weren't about to let me leave while they believed I was of use to them.

"Is that so?" Aro's question sounded more like a statement. I could tell how interested he was in this information by his tone.

Backtracking, "Well, yeah. You know, I'm not exactly sure how it works. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't." The rambling continued in all directions. "And it normally only opens when I'm really stressed or upset or…" Oh god, somebody stop me now.

"What Ashley is trying to say is," Edward cut me off, the voice of reason, "that the door is very subjective." Thank goodness, _before _I managed to give out more relevant info that could get us all seriously wounded.

Carlisle stepped forward, "I don't understand what it is everyone is talking about, but whatever it is, I can tell it should be well enough left alone." If only he knew.

Aro turned to face his friend, "Ah, I see that neither Edward nor Alice have been completely honest with you, Carlisle about Ashley's origin."

Carlisle looked from Alice to Edward, confusion etched into his face. Alice looked at the floor, guilt setting in.

"You see, from what Edward has inadvertently told me, Ashley is not just from a different country. She is from a different world. One which seemingly runs parallel to this one." Aro explained. God, if you already knew the whole story, why the hell did you want me to explain it to you?

"I don't understand." Carlisle said unemotionally.

I groaned, deciding to take over the story from here. Sure, the Voltori didn't deserve anything from me but Carlisle did. He deserved a proper explanation.

"Look, this is going to be hard to accept but where I come from everything around us, you, Edward, Alice, the Voltori, everything are parts of a very popular novel called _Twilight_."

More blank stares by Emmett and Carlisle. "It's about a girl called Bella Swan who falls in love with a vampire," I explained. "Edward, to be more specific."

Now I had started, there was no stopping. "One day I was just sitting in my room, reading my book and somehow Bella Swan ended up in my bedroom. Seeing how to me she's just a character in a novel, I was seriously questioning my sanity.

"And it got even better. Instead of seeing the hallway that's usually outside my bedroom door, I could see Bella's room. Being the stupid fan-girl I was, I went through to check it out when Bella shut the door and trapped us both in the wrong worlds. Trust me, I was extremely pissed at her."

A little comprehension but more disbelief.

"Surprisingly, events seemed to be at the very beginning of what happens in the novel, when Bella had just moved to Forks to live with Charlie. I still have no clue why he bought my story when he found me inside his house with no suitcase or Bella in sight. Anyway, to cut a really long story short, I got enrolled at Forks High school and I met you guys and everything was so amazing, and I couldn't work out how to make the door open again so I just sort of stuck around.

"I fell for Edward and then James came along."

Emmett finally spoke, "So _that's_ why you were constantly saying weird stuff. Mostly we just thought it was because you were a little crazed."

I rolled my eyes, "_Thanks_ Emmett. I tell you you're all characters in a novel and you're just amazed to find out that I'm not insane."

He raised a brow, "Ash, we're freakin' vampires. How much crazier can life get?"

Very true.

"And James?" Carlisle asked. "I've always wondered why your stories were a little….off."

"James chased us back to the high school and while we were there the dimensional door opened. We all ended up at my school back home. We got separated and Edward wasn't at his best at the time. James found me later and would have killed me if Edward hadn't stepped in."

He paused before looking seriously at Edward, "I'll expect the full story when we get home." Edward nodded silently.

"The important thing is, I don't know what you expect to get out of the door. In my world, vampires don't exist. When you pass through, you become human." I pointed out.

The Cullens seem to perk up a little at this comment and I wasn't surprised as to why.

"Although interesting, that is of no importance." Aro said.

At that moment, Edward made a small sound as if to say he finally understood something. "Edward?" I queried, curious.

"They don't plan to use the door to end their immortality; they want to use it to seek out humans that they believe are likely to become potentially powerful vampires." Edward frowned, taking a step forward. "Collect those with particularly interesting gifts such as Alice and I."

I looked back towards the family and gazed into Jane's vivid Crimson irises, focused intently on me. "No. There is no way I would ever allow you to do that. To kill innocent people and force them into…"I gestured around, "this."

"Well, I see we have a dilemma here." Aro stepped towards us, his arms open. "As it is, you are a human who knows far too much about our race and we can't have that. So we have only a few options." He halted, savouring the words and thinking through the choices.

"We can kill you," he mused as Edward growled lowly, stepping in front of me protectively. It may be an option for them but for me, no way. I am definitely not having my neck snapped by some centuries old, tyrant in a damp chamber beneath Italy. Nope.

"We can turn you," a sly smile appeared. I hated to imagine just what Edward was reading inside his mind at those words.

"Not an option," Edward snapped angrily, his temper just barely being kept under control. Had we been in another situation, this would be a time where he'd be pinching the bridge of his noise to regain calm. As things were, not so much.

"Our final offer is a deal," he said quickly, watching our reactions. Somehow I had a really bad feeling about this.

Crossing my arms across my chest, my eyebrow raised. "Alright, considering the last two options haven't been exactly valid, let's hear it."

"I wish to collect certain…gifts. Unfortunately, over several centuries, I have yet to come across vampire who possesses them. In this world, exposure is of high risk and people disappearing in such a manner would prove dangerous for our kind."

I shook my head vehemently, "I can see where you're going with this and no. I told you that I'm not going to give you access to my world to hurt people."

"You don't have a choice," Caius joined in, rising from his throne. Marcus simply sat, appearing as bored as ever by his family's actions.

"And how are you going to make me? Huh? Without me the door won't work and you're back to square one so it's not like you can hurt me or anything." I yelled angrily.

Edward gripped my arm, cautioning me to avoid another outburst. These were the wrong people to try to gain the upper hand with.

"You aren't the only one in this room vulnerable to us,"

I looked back at Edward and the members of his family, reminding myself that if I allowed it, they could get hurt and I wasn't about to let that happen.

Demitri and Felix made a threatening move forward, eager to act on the implied threat. Clearly they were hoping to try out tackling Emmett in particular who was casually eyeing the exit behind us.

"Fine," I slumped. "What do you want me to do?"

"No," Edward broke in, his tone firm.

I took his hand reassuringly, "Edward, I don't want anyone to get hurt. This is simpler. Trust me, I'll be fine." I just hoped he could understand what I meant. Once we crossed the threshold into my world, mine and whoever's strength would be a lot more even. Plus, I wouldn't want to mess with my turning or side kicks. They break boards for one thing.

"So, what do you want?" I repeated, eager to get this over and done with.

In the back of my mind, I just hoped that Jake was okay. I'd left him angry, paranoid and alone in a strange city full of underground vampires. The last thing I wanted was for someone to find out he was here and attempt to retrieve him. He'd probably end up doing something extremely stupid and get himself hurt.

Breathe Ashley, you'll get this done, go back and find Jake, and maybe even be home in time for dinner. You can do this. Somehow, my pep talk wasn't achieving the desired effect.

"I want you to take two members of our guard through the portal into your world. They'll have their own orders as to what to do, you'll simply do what they say." I looked at Aro, fury burning in my eyes.

"Fine," I muttered. If my sudden burst of anger wouldn't open the door, I wasn't sure what would. "Just so you know, usually the door opens up to places in my world that are sort of similar to where I am at the time but they only seem to be locations I've been to before."

I waited for him to respond but instead I was faced with a stony expression a whole heap of silence. "Umm…I've never been anywhere like _here_ before. The closest I can get is probably somewhere I visited during my trip to Italy meaning I'll be kind of out of my element." I babbled.

"I'm sure you can adapt if the situation requires it." I shrugged, realising this was about as much sympathy as I was going to get.

"So who's joining me?" I said, finally voicing the worrying question. Aro waved a hand at Felix to approach them, at the same time another figure joined them in the centre of the room.

Crap. Of all the guards he could have chosen, he had to pick the muscular one as big as Emmett.

"Felix and Rayne will be accompanying you. Rayne is very much like Carlisle's and our mutual friend Eleazar except that Rayne is more sensitive to the potential of humans than vampires. He will read those around you." Aro explained excitedly. Me, I felt sick to the stomach. The only thing I could hope for was that neither of the two had fed too recently but by the look of their bright eyes, I found that unlikely.

"But he'll be human when he passes through meaning his abilities will be useless." I reminded him.

"That won't be a problem. Rayne was gifted with his keen senses long before he was a vampire."

A lump formed in my throat as I imagined what was to come. "Okay, I'm guessing you want us to leave now."

Carlisle walked across the room, "Aro," he began almost desperately. "Stop this. We have had no reason to clash in the past, why begin such hostilities now? Ashley will be returning home meaning where her knowledge of us is of no threat. You have no excuse, so why do this?"

Edward joined his side, "This isn't for logical reasons Carlisle, it's purely for power." He stated, bitterness seeping through the words.

Alice came up from behind me, her slim frame appearing even more so in the grandness of the room. "Ashley," she said to me softly. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine. I see us all together again at home very soon." Whether she was simply lying to give me hope, I appreciated the reassuring words. That half the Cullen family's lives depended on whether I could help the Voltori choose potentially power future vampires scared me very much.

"Thanks Alice," I said with a weak smile before pushing past her towards the doors. Several guards eyed me suspiciously as thought about to intervene but a command from behind me restrained them.

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, focusing my frustration and heightened anxiety into opening up the portal. This was so different from before, when I'd been trying to find a quiet spot for Edward and I to just be happy and…human.

Now I was being blackmailed into hurting others.

My lids flickered open and I pushed forwards on the large doors, swinging them backwards into what should have been the stone corridor. Instead I was faced with a pebbled street bordered by tall stone buildings. Just as I'd expected, somewhere in Italy.

I looked back at the group of vampires now watching me with different expressions. Before I could rethink my next actions, I spoke: "Are you coming or not?" before heading forward and on through the double dimensional door.

* * *

**A/N: Not sure when the next chap will be up so be patient, I know I'm painful but this is my last year of high school and work is tough. Anyway, hope you haven't given up and are willing to stick it out till the end which I hope will be arriving soon. **

_**Next Time on Return to Meyer: It's a life sized game of where's Wally, only this time Wally's a bunch of potentially powerful future vampires and Ashley's not playing alone, she's teamed with two members of the Voltori's guard – a man twice her size and one who can sense the skills of everyone around him. **_

_**This is going to be one messed up game. **_

_**Only who's going to come out on top?**_

_**Next Time. **_


	18. Rayne

**Disclaimer: Thank you Stephenie Meyer for your Twilight world and to Guy Andrews for the concept itself. Without them, there would be no story.**

**A/N: I know, I'm slow and painful and boring but here's the next chapter. I'm trying, you do have to give me credit for that. Hopefully I'll finish it soon. I just finished watching 'New Moon' on DVD this afternoon and was inspired to write a new chapter. Also a big thanks to all the fans of the fic who have stuck in there through my extremely long writing process. So as always, ignore the grammar and enjoy.**

* * *

**Return to Meyer**

**18. Rayne**

* * *

Uneven pavement stones pressed into my feet through the thin soles of my ballet flats. My eyes darted from side to side, attempting to make sense of my new surroundings that were familiar yet so alien at the same time.

The sky was grey, cloudy and ominous. I couldn't help but see it as a warning for the events that would soon come to pass. The only independent variable was me. If I was to come up with a plan to somehow get away from my two "guards" (literally), then what? Reopen the door and face the other members of the Voltori? Risk getting someone killed? Nope. Not happening.

With these thoughts wearing heavily on my mind, I forced myself to look back through the archway, beyond any of the expectant faces of the Voltori and to Edward. Catching his eyes, I held them as I look of hopelessness set in. My emotions were reflected in his demeanour.

The vampire, Rayne, fearlessly walked the last few necessary steps to join me on the other side of the archway. At the moment he crossed the threshold, he gripped the wall to our right as the full extent of his regained humanity took hold.

Ragged breathing, necessary for the first time in years and a heartbeat racing beneath a moving chest, all clear indicators and proof in support of what I had told Aro and the others.

The smallest twitch of apprehension appeared on Felix's face at the sight of his comrade.

Feeling snippy, I narrowed my eyes, boring them into the oversized Voltori guard. "Are you coming or do I have to stand here all day?"

My comment hit the air between worlds, forcing Felix towards the gateway. Suddenly, the mood changed as Edward leapt forward at rapid pace. His clothing whipped through the air behind him as he was grasped around the neck by Felix and thrown against the wall in a rock hard choke hold.

I cringed at the sound, marble smashing into stone. Edward struggled inside the larger vampire's grip, both continuing to snarl at one another in rage.

"Edward," I called out, pleadingly. "Stop, I'll be fine. You just have to wait and trust me to handle things." He looked at me apprehensively, questioning my words. Seeing the resolution in my face, his struggles ceased. The look of pure loathing remained in place.

Felix looked to his masters for orders. At a short nod from Caius, he loosened his grip on Edward's pale neck and took the final step through the barrier.

Apart from a look of brief displeasure and a short breath, the transition appeared to have a limited affect on him. This was worrying.

I took a deep breath, bracing myself before holding up a hand in a brief gesture of farewell and before I could try to turn back, I swung the door between worlds shut.

** ***** **

I shifted my weight impatiently, stretching my back against the wall of the café Felix and Rayne had positioned us against a few minutes ago. Since then, Rayne had chosen a spot and then proceeded to shut his eyes as though he'd fallen asleep on the spot. For the last two minutes or so I'd been resisting the urge to yell "BOO!" in his face and give him a good shake. Similarly, Felix had stood on the other side of me, continuing to silently and casually observe the surrounding crowds. With him, I was fighting the need to practice my turning kicks on a certain…._part_ of his body (and trust me, those kicks have broken wooden boards). I know, I'm immature but when else was I going to get the chance to seriously consider indulging my fantasies under the possibilities that they would actually work?

So instead of doing some more preferable Buffy-esq martial art moves, I had finally worked out where it was we'd ended up. About a year and a half ago, my parents decided to take my sister and I on a six week trip overseas. Some of the locations on the list were England, France, Switzerland, the United States and Italy.

What are the odds?

If I had to make a guess, I'd say we were in San Gimignano. The streets and the towers were somewhat vaguely familiar. From the maps I'd seen, San Gimignano is right next to Volterra in Tuscany and seeing how, as far as I can remember, I've never been to Volterra this was about as close as the door could get.

I peered out from the corner of my eye at Rayne who was still standing rigidly with his eyes closed, probably scanning the crowds for the right person to bring home for Aro as a souvenir. I couldn't help but notice that he looked absolutely exhausted but that was to be expected after coming through the doorway between worlds.

I walked forward, forming the beginnings of a pacing session. Felix's eyes followed me as though he was expecting me to try and leg it up the street away from them at any moment. I gave him a look as if to say, "I'm not _that_ stupid." He chose to ignore it.

Sighing, I opened my mouth about to complain about the length of time I was wasting doing absolutely nothing when the sky opened up and it started to rain.

"You have got to be kidding me. This is ridiculous." I grumbled. Neither of the vampires shifted in the slightest while I started to move towards cover. Felix's look darkened, warning me to stay put.

"Come on," I said in exasperation. "I am not staying out here in the rain." I could feel the water soaking through my clothing and my hair starting dampen. The expression held. "I guess I am." I realised, moving back to my previous spot against the wall and sinking to a crouch to keep warm. What was the point? After a couple more minutes, I was already soaked.

While Rayne searched and Felix stood looking threatening, I watched as people either pulled out large, multicoloured umbrellas or spoke in a mix of languages, revealing their agitation as they ducked for cover. Lucky them. Instead I was stuck with Tweedle dumb and Tweedle dumber.

At last Rayne's eyes flickered open and he spoke, almost sending me sky high at the suddenness. I got to my feet, brushing away several drops of rain as they made their way down my face and into my eyes.

"That boy over there," Rayne pointed to dark haired boy holding a green umbrella. He couldn't have been more than thirteen years old and just like that his life was going to be over? No, no, no. I was not going to let them change him into a vampire. Not happening on my watch.

Both Voltori guards set off in the boy's direction, me attempting to keep up to the best of my ability.

"What are you going to do?" I asked frantically. "You can't just snatch him off the street in front of all these people."

Yet, the closer they moved I had the scary feeling that snatching him then and there was exactly what they were going to do. There were no vampires in this world, heck they didn't even live here, so why play by our rules?

We walked past several groups of people until we had reached a side street emptied by the weather. I had no idea what it was that this boy was going to be able to do as a vampire that Aro wanted so much but that was important. What was, was that this kid, who had barely even started his life was going to be taken from his family and killed for no good reason whatsoever. Even more so, the closer we got, the more and more it seemed like there was going to be nothing I could do to stop it.

The boy turned to a smaller girl beside him and said something in what I assumed to be Greek. Great, a tourist too. It was probably his first big holiday overseas.

Felix and Rayne had paused, waiting in silence as the boy and his group moved quickly towards the side street opening. In a few seconds they would pass it.

My breath held in my chest, as they passed the opening and time seemed to stand still. They were passing….walking….almost through….The gust of air whooshed out of my chest as the group cleared the centre of the opening.

All of a sudden, the boy stopped. I froze in horror as he bent down and began retying one of his shoelaces while his group continued on, oblivious to his location. Before I could intervene, Felix and Rayne stepped forward and grabbed the boy tightly, Felix placing his hand over the boy's mouth to prevent anyone from hearing his surprised and panicked cry.

No, no, no! This was not how things were supposed to go. Do something, Ashley. DO SOMETHING. But as much as I screamed at myself to move, to act, I was stuck in place. My head empty of all plans and ideas on how to prevent the events taking hold in front of me.

The Greek boy looked up at me with wide eyes, struggling against Felix's strong grip. _Please,_ they begged, please help me.

"Open the gateway," Rayne ordered coldly, gesturing to a nearby archway. I looked back and forth between him and the frightened teen. I shook my head firmly, wishing I could just turn back time to before all this had happened. Before I'd been forced to take part in such horrible things. Before….everything.

"I wouldn't want to have to harm the human, Aro would be most displeased." Felix threatened, his hold tightening. The boy cringed in pain under the applied pressure. I couldn't bear to watch.

"Okay, okay, just stop!"I cried, positioning myself in front of the arch and thinking over and over again of my need to return to Volterra.

The archway shimmered, transforming into one of the Voltori's endless looking corridors. Torches on the walls the only illumination, Latin phrases staring back harshly where they were engraved into aged sandstone.

Rayne and Felix pushed past me and into the corridor, each twitching slightly as they regained their vampiric status. I trailed on, my hair leaving drops of water on the floor as I went, their falling the only sound in the long, deserted hallway.

The feeling resembled how I'd imagine being brought to receive a death sentence would feel. A guilt heavier than I've ever experienced sat deep within my gut, ripping its way through my insides. I allowed myself another look at the helpless boy who would soon become an immortal because of me and before I could stop them, tears had begun to fall.

They ran slowly down my cheeks, joining the rain runoff from my clothes as I trudged along noiselessly. Finally we reached the large doors, Rayne swinging them open in one movement and about as little effort as possible. It was as though nothing had changed and every person in the room had remained fixed in place since our departure.

"Welcome back," Aro greeted us, his arms out wide and an expression of pure glee on his face.

Neither of us answered, instead Felix hastily dropped the boy at his feet. Aro looked down at him, sending the boy babbling in Greek. I wasn't sure whether anyone could understand him but language barrier or not, it was easy to see that he was absolutely terrified. I continued to cry, wishing that it would stop and hating how weak and human it made me seem.

A moment later, Edward was by my side. He wrapped an arm around me, pulling me close for comfort. I refused to look at him, feeling undeserving of the gesture. I was a horrible person. I deserved no comfort for what I had done. If only I could make him understand, that I was damaging and that he should have just told me to go home the first chance I had. If things had gone that way, none of this would have happened. If stupid Bella had never opened the damn door, I would have gone on living my life without any of this crap. If only he could hear me say I was sorry. If….

I stopped, picking up on something I should have a very long time ago.

God, I'm stupid.

Edward can't hear my thoughts. He never has been able to. Neither can Aro and Jane sure as hell can't torture me. Why is that? Because I'm from a world where vampires don't exist. Things that work in this world don't necessarily work in my world and vice versa. I probably have a slight inclination towards a particular gift that would show up if I were made a vampire, that is, if Rayne were to read me back home but here, here the rules are different.

Gifts are compatible with us because technically, we don't belong here. We aren't a part of this world. Therefore, this particular boy's so called future potential wouldn't exist here. We have neither past nor future here. We're like broken timelines. Things taken out of time and space that have no end of beginning, merely what choices we make in situations at the time they're upon us.

Note to self, lay of the 'Doctor Who' for a while, you're starting to sound a little too scientifically eccentric.

I lifted up a hand and wiped away the tears, bracing myself to share my revelations. A grin spread across my face as I realised that I had found a way to get us all out of this.

"Wait," I called out loudly, sending everybody's head snapping in my direction. "Get Rayne to read him again." I ordered.

The three older Voltori members replied with looks of utter astonishment. "Forgive me, but why should we do that?" Aro queried, not rudely but in mere curiosity.

"Just trust me," I said, my smile widening.

Aro turned to Rayne and nodded briefly. Rayne looked at the cowering boy on the floor, his focus intensifying. A moment later, disbelief etched itself into his face. I felt Edward relax ever so slightly beside me. He had clearly caught on to my train of thought more or less.

"How can that be?" Rayne asked no-one in particular, astonishment colouring his words. "Master, I sensed his future potential. I was sure of it. Now there is….nothing." He forced out distastefully. "It's as if all of his abilities have ceased to exist, even the most common of human strengths. He is in essence _blank_."

Throughout this little exchange of information, I had been watching Aro closely for any changes in his appearance. I had expected a little anger, maybe some frustration instead I was faced with amusement. Surprisingly, at that moment, he started to laugh.

His hands clapped together loudly, the humour in the situation seemingly becoming more and more apparent to him. "Now, this is a very interesting turn of events." He exclaimed.

"Aro," Caius cautioned him, quietly.

The laughing ceased but the grin held in place. "I'm afraid that our endeavour here has been to no avail. We cannot benefit from this arrangement it would seem." He admitted.

"We warned you of such an outcome earlier, Aro." Edward told him.

Aro nodded, "It would seem that you are correct Edward. In that case we are left with our previous dilemma. Ashley is human and knows far too much about our kind, and as you have said before, you have no intention to turn her but you will not live without her."

"Ashley and I will be returning to her own world very soon, the problem will no longer exist after that." Edward explained.

"And you do not intend to return in order to visit your family?" Marcus questioned unemotionally.

Edward paused. I looked up at him, wondering whether he had properly thought this through yet. I was more than willing to bring everyone with me but if some of the Cullens wished to remain here, that would make visiting and complying with the Voltori tricky.

"That is for us to discuss," Carlisle joined in, firmly.

"Does it really matter what Edward does? As long as I don't come back, you're happy right?" I asked, hoping to move this along soon.

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Aro clarified.

I sighed, "Fine, I won't come back."

Aro raised a brow, "Do we have your word?"

Hell, did I have any reason to come back here after all this? Then I remembered, Jacob. That would mean I would never see him again. I would have to make a choice. My safety and that of those I loved in exchange for leaving Jacob, there could only be one answer.

"Yes, I promise you won't see me back here once I leave." I vowed.

Caius glowered at me seriously, "Remember, the Voltori do not give second chances." Well, duh, I felt like saying.

"I know." I replied.

"Good, that concludes our business." Aro exclaimed. "Demetri and Felix will escort you to the exit."

I cut in, "No, that does not conclude our business." I gestured at the sobbing teen on the floor of the chamber, clueless as to what was going on around him.

"I would suggest that you leave us to take care of him but somehow I don't believe that is an answer you would be satisfied with."

"You'd be right." I pressed.

Aro sighed, already bored with the topic. "You may take him with you."

I didn't thank him, pleasantries already very far past me. I went over to the boy and helped him to his feet, attempting to sooth him with words in a calm tone. He was still scared but willingly came with me.

"Bye," I pressed out forcefully, as I made my way to the exit with the kidnapped boy at my side.

"Farewell young friends, Carlisle, my friend, do visit again soon and Edward our offer to join us still stands if certain circumstances do occur and events do not turn out as well as you had planned."

Edward frowned, "I'll take my chances,"

And with this our group steadily and finally made its way towards the exit.

* * *

**A/N: At last the Voltori has been dealt with, well, more or less. I know, it's been a long time coming. Also, if you think the end is near, you'd be right but we still have one last major problem to tackle and she's angry and vengeful with red hair. Three guesses what. Anyway, hang in there, I'll update when I can. Remember to review, you know how much I love them.**

_**Next Time on Return to Meyer: **_

_**The Voltori are out of the picture for now but bigger problems are at hand. With Victoria still on the warpath and the end unforeseeable, the last few chapters of Return to Meyer lead up to a climax that will have the Twilight saga characters backed up against a wall and in a situation that they may just not be able to get out of. **_

_**Soon. **_


	19. Truth

**Disclaimer: Thank you Stephenie Meyer for your Twilight world and to Guy Andrews for the concept itself. Without them, there would be no story.**

**A/N: Like I said, I've been buried under exams, study, home-work and major writing projects. I've decided to slack off them this weekend just for you guys. Here's the newest chapter. I'm not sure when the next one will be up. Please bare with me and enjoy. **

* * *

**Return to Meyer**

**19. Truth**

* * *

The hours that followed our return to the surface from the Volturi's underground chambers seemed to go by quite quickly. Looking back, I find it results from having so many things jammed into one space of time.

The moment we reached a point where we could actually see the sky, I opened up a portal inside a nearby doorway. Without so much as a word to the others, I gestured for the boy the Volturi had kidnapped to follow me. Guiding him softly beside me, it didn't take long to find his group who appeared to be in a complete panic at his disappearance. He was warmly welcomed back, the relief evident on his face. I could only hope that today's events hadn't traumatised him completely and that possibly, he could even forget them.

So, with a heavy heart, I walked the alleyway from which I'd come and again passed through the archway. Edward watched me carefully, as if trying to ascertain exactly how I was feeling. Mentally I wished him good luck because as of yet, I didn't have a clue myself.

The warmth of the day returned to my skin at the reappearance of the sunlight. No longer feeling the need for the reminder of those terrible…people downstairs, I removed the cloak Edward had given me and handed it back to him.

"I'll be back," I told them quietly, "I just have to go find Jacob."

Edward shot Alice a hard look that clearly said something along the lines of "You brought the mutt as well?"

"We'll be here," Carlisle reassured me with a strained smile.

I pushed through the people as politely as I possibly could until I reached the spot I'd left him. Spinning around on my heel, I strained my eyes in the sunlight in the attempt to find him. A tap on my shoulder sent me sky high.

Jacob looked down at me in a cross between relief that I was back and anxiety remaining from the time he'd spent waiting around for me. I wished that he could have stayed home but then was reminded that he'd insisted he come along and I hadn't been in the mood to argue.

"So?" He asked, his arms folded across his chest.

I shrugged loosely. "Edward's back, we're going home." I told him simply. "Not that you really care about the first part." It wasn't meant to be an argument or a snipe, just merely a statement of fact.

Jacob didn't respond.

"Oh, but I'll be going home soon and I'm not coming back," I blurted out quickly in a bright tone, hoping to get it out of the way quickly. He deserved to know but as for the circumstances surrounding my leaving, I wasn't so sure yet. I took off slowly, leading him back to the shadows where the Cullens were waiting for us.

"What do you mean?" He asked, panicked.

I sighed, running a hand down my face. "Jacob, I'm here on holiday…well, if you can call it a holiday. I need to go home. I have a family too." Holiday, sure. That's absolute crap and you know it.

"But that doesn't mean you can't come back." He added, hopefully.

I shook my head. "No, I can't. I made a deal with the Volturi and let's just say, if there's an agreement you don't want to go back on, it's one with them."

He opened his mouth to argue or suggest something everyone around him would deem ridiculous or suicidal when I cut him off. "Look, Jake. I'm exhausted, okay. Can we talk about this another time?" I was finding it hard to pick my feet up off the ground after all the stress I'd been through today. Not to mention the jet lag.

"No, I'm not going to let you side step the conversation anymore. I'm sick of just having to _trust you_," he held up his fingers in quotation marks, "I need answers and we're not going anywhere until I get them." Jacob crossed his arm across his chest, his firm resolve evident on his face.

Putting a hand on his nearest arm, I looked him dead in the eye. "Jacob, I promise you that once we're back in Forks and I've had a good night's sleep I will tell you anything and everything you want to know."

He eyed me carefully, searching my face for any trace of dishonesty. I put on my most sincere expression. "I'm done pretending. You," I nodded to the Cullens, "and they, deserve to know everything. I promise. Just give me some time. I'm exhausted."

Jacob's determination weakened slightly. Clearly I'd slipped up in hiding just how tired I was physically and emotionally. He nodded before wrapping his arm around my shoulders and walking with me back towards the Cullens. I shot a small look at Edward, trying to ignore the jealousy I knew he was straining to keep under wraps but was a hundred percent evident in his eyes.

By this point, I wanted nothing more than to go home. My real home. To my own universe, to Australia, to my family and friends. This was the end of the line for me; the final epilogue to my overwritten story. Or so I thought.

"Ashley," a velvet like voice echoed dreamily through my head without the distinction between fantasy and reality. Such a nice, familiar voice. Cool but so warm at the same time.

"Hmm….hi," I mumbled as a giddy smile took hold. The voice chuckled quietly. My eyelids flickered open at the sound. As my eyes cleared, Edward's face took shape. Its angles and paleness softened by the faded sunlight of an afternoon in Forks, Washington.

"I was wondering when that Edward shaped alarm clock was going to get here." I joked lightly before propping myself up on my elbow on the pillow. "Speaking of time, how long have I been asleep?"

He looked down at his watched and smiled, "It's two-thirty meaning you've been in bed for about seventeen hours."

I sat up with a start, jaw dropped. "Hold on, seventeen hours? Are you kidding me? I'm lucky if I sleep ten." I cried as I tried to blow fallen hair out of my eyes. I groaned as Edward gently reached out and placed the chunk behind my ear and shoulder. His fingers stroked downward for a few moments to calm me before returning to his thigh.

He laughed, "You were completely worn out. I almost had to carry you up the stairs."

I paused in thought, "Yeah, I must really have been out of it if I can't even remember coming here from the airport." Sitting up properly I eyed him carefully. "Please don't tell me you've been sitting there watching me sleep for the entire seventeen hours."

Edward shook his head firmly, "I've only been here for about two. Part of which was spent coming up with an explanation for Charlie." He muttered.

Peaked interest, "Oh yeah? How'd that go?"

He gave me a grimace before getting out of the rocking chair by the wall. "As well as can be expected under the circumstances,"

I crossed my legs under the covers, watching him as I tried to think of a gradual way to broach topics we really needed to discuss. There didn't seem to be an unobvious way to do it so I simply jumped in head on.

"You do know that I need to leave," I reminded him of my promise to Volturi as his mood darkened ever so marginally.

"Not immediately," was his cool response.

I shrugged, "Well no, there's some stuff I need to take care of first but I will be leaving and I need to check that what…" I trailed off, a little unsure for a moment.

He moved to sit on the bed, eyes curious and concerned. "What?" He probed.

"Well, do you still intend to come with me this time?" I asked with a minor quiver to the words.

His face resumed its half smile but with a strong sense of determination, "Of course, I do. I made the mistake of not pushing harder last time and look where it has gotten us. There's no way in heaven or earth that I'm letting you leave without me again."

I nodded happily, "Good. That means I have three things to address before we leave."

"Is it within reason to assume that Charlie is one of them?" He asked measurably.

I got up out of bed and reached for my hoodie before throwing it on over my pyjamas. "Yes. The second is Jacob."

I couldn't say for sure but if I had to guess, I would have said that I saw Edward's eyes narrow at the sound of Jacob's name. "Edward, he deserves to know. He tried to get answers in Italy and I promised I'd tell him everything once we got back. He won't tell anyone."

"If it were up to me, I would leave Jacob Black and his….pack out of the equation." He commented sullenly.

I cut in firmly, "Edward, I'm not discussing it, if you've got a problem, deal with it but I'm telling Jacob." I sat in silence waiting for him to attempt some other sort of protest or persuasion but he remained just as quiet as me, his golden eyes focused on me closely.

"What's the third?" He finally asked, revealing to my relief that he was going to let the Jacob thing pass. I really wasn't in the mood to argue over it. After all, it was my choice.

Taking a deep breath, I finally expressed the most important idea on the agenda and probably the one that would mean the difference between Edward's imminent and future happiness.

With a broad smile, I faced him.

"I'm going to offer a choice to your family,"

After finally getting dressed and forcing down some sort of meal (breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea….who knows?), I followed Edward out to the Volvo which he had parked out front. Charlie, to my surprise, was at work, leaving the house free for whatever discussion or vampire freedom Edward wanted. We'd decided to speak to the Cullens first before heading down to La Push to speak to Jake. That is, I would be speaking to Jake. Edward still couldn't pass the treaty line which he was evidently peeved about in this instance.

But surprisingly and conveniently, as I headed out into the cold air, I found Jacob waiting for me by the tree cover opposite. Despite the cold, he was dressed only in a pair of sneakers and denim cut offs. I averted my eyes from his bare torso, hoping that this small gesture would put Edward a little more at ease. With a quick glance at him, I found that at ease was not going to be anywhere near possible.

"I'll meet you in the car," I told him as I began to head toward Jacob who was eyeing Edward as intensely as the Edward was watching him. Suddenly I was glad I'd slept on the plane trip back. I hated to think just how tense the environment had been with a whole bunch of vampires and a werewolf in close quarters, let alone the fact that both Jacob and Edward seemed to have a pretty strong vendetta against one another.

Edward grabbed my wrist carefully as to ensure no bruising, "And what do you expect me to do while you explain highly complicated concepts to an unstable young werewolf?" The concern and force shone through every word.

I gave him a broad smile, "Sit down and put on a CD," I offered lightly. Ignoring his angered expression, I kissed him quickly on the cheek before completing the distance to Jake.

"Hi there," I greeted him, "I was going to drive down and see you later this afternoon."

"Yeah, I can see why your morning was so obviously busy." He added venomously.

I rolled my eyes, "Jacob, I've been asleep for about seventeen hours." He looked surprised at this, "I warned you that I was exhausted."

Walking a few steps into the underbrush, I began brushing off a couple of leaves on a large log before sitting down. "And now I am here to answer your questions," I tapped the spot next to me but apparently Jacob was in the mood to stand.

"Ask me whatever you want," I prodded him, ready to get the whole reality of the idea out of the way and move onto the concepts themselves.

Jacob paced in a line for a couple of minutes straight before finally coming up with a series of question that I had already prepared answers for. They were the logical ones to ask.

"Why do you seem to pop in and out of here without ever having been driven to the airport and without any luggage?" he asked pointedly, his arms crossed as per usual.

"Good question. That's because one, I never fly here and back and second, I never seem to plan my trips here. They just…happen. Ergo, no chance to pack."

Despite its truth, my answer seemed to confuse Jacob more than he'd been without it. I couldn't blame him. It was a pretty damn confusing idea.

"But you live in Australia," he stated blankly.

I nodded, "True."

"Then how the hell do you get there if you don't fly? Swim?" He blurted out in exasperation.

I stood up, "Okay, stuff the questions. I'll tell you what you need to know and then you can ask whatever you want. Just listen." Bracing myself for another one of many difficult conversations, I took an extremely deep breath before exhaling. The breath formed a white cloud of cooled air and I watched as it slowly dissipated into the atmosphere.

By the time I'd finished telling my story about how I'd ended up in Forks the first time and about Stephenie Meyer's books, he'd decided that perhaps sitting on the log was a better idea that he'd originally thought. It was a lot to take in.

"This is all fictional," he commented unemotionally.

I kneeled down to get my face level with his, "Of course not, that's what I'm trying to tell you. You're all living life out here so obviously you exist."

"But we're book characters in your world."

"Errr...well, yes and film characters in the movies based on the books." I told him without thinking.

He stood up, panicked. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He held up his hands in the gesture for slow down or back up. "Movie characters?" He cried, the volume of his voice escalating.

"Hey, if it's any consolation, the guy who plays you is extremely easy on the eyes and he's got your temper down to a tee." I joked in a failed attempt to lighten the mood.

"Okay, you're from a different dimension where I'm a fictional character in love with Bella Swan." He lowered his hands. "Right, I can handle that." He said shakily.

"Really?" I checked, worried. "Because, so far you don't seem like you can."

He stopped, an idea occurring to him. "How long has _he_ known?"

Ah 'he', Jacob's universal term for Edward. It was the only way he could manage to refer to him without using an insult I would find offensive.

"Hmmm….I can't remember exactly when but about half way through my last stay. He kind of coerced me to give him my Twilight copy under Bella's bed and I'm an extremely crappy liar." I said, thinking back to that moment. You liar. You gave him the damn novel after he told you he loved you. The horror with myself of when I'd first struck up the nerve to hand him my Twilight novel was still fresh in my mind, but also the relief I'd felt in being able to tell someone for the first time. That I wasn't completely insane.

"If he can handle it, I can handle it." Jacob said firmly. Of course he could. _Anything Edward can do, I can do better. _I could practically hear the tune playing in Jacob's head from there.

"Another question, before you leave. I need to know." He looked uncomfortable. "You say you love him. But you can't tell me that you don't have any feelings for me."

Why god why? Things were going so well?

"Yes, I can Jake because we're just friends." I replied stiffly.

He shook his head and took a step forward closing the distance between us. "You know that's not true." The hope in his eyes was killing me. It was like denying Mike Newton all over again.

"It is. Jake, please don't make this difficult." I pleaded.

"I don't believe you," he told me, determined.

"Jake…" I tried to protest again but before I knew what was happening he had pressed his lips against mine. What is this? I wanted to scream. It's like somebody squished New Moon and Eclipse together to try and make my life a complete and total HELL!

The burning sensation spread throughout my body as his lips moulded themselves to mine. They pushed against me hard and rough, in a way that Edward's only ever seemed to do when we were in my dimension. Yes, it was a great kiss but the feelings behind it weren't the same. Unlike Bella, I wasn't in love with Jacob. It must only have been a few seconds in reality but it felt so much longer.

Breaking away from him I was horrified. "Oh my god," I exclaimed. "That did not just happen." I repeated again and again to myself. "I would hit you but even though I know how, I doubt it would turn out well seeing as we're in fictional Forks."

I shook my head. "No, no, no."

"Ashley, you don't want to hit me because you can't admit that you have feelings for me." Jacob told me smugly. "I would be so much better for you than he would." He professed.

"Edward might have done a lot of questionable things but he's a good person. He doesn't deserve this." I cried at him angrily but the damage had been done merely by the beginning of the sentence.

"Why did you go to Italy?" He asked. He'd picked up on it. How could I have been so stupid.

"I told you, to get Edward." This was the story. I was sticking with it.

"Yes, but why was Edward there in the first place? Not that I care if the bloodsucker decides to leave town but why did you have to go and _get _him?"

Oh dear. Oh dear, dear, dear.

"It doesn't matter, you know all the details now so let's just…" I began babbling to cover up the fact that I wasn't going to answer the question.

"Ashley," he warned. "You promised to answer anything and everything I wanted to know. I want an honest answer."

Crap.

"There was this whole misunderstanding with Edward and me and a wounded leg which was entirely Victoria's fault." I rambled at top speed. Jacob's face darkened instantaneously and he took off at top speed just as the sound of a slamming car door echoed through the trees from the road.

Oh damn. Edward had heard exactly what had happened. I am so screwed.

I rushed after Jacob as he walked in long strides towards the road. From the corner of my eye, I could see Edward marching up to meet him from the other direction looking equally as murderous.

To my utter fear, Jacob's body had begun to shake violently in spasms as he walked. In a few moments, if he couldn't get them under control, Edward would be facing a life sized werewolf.

And there would be nothing I could do to stop them from fighting each other.

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**A/N: I know, cliffhanger but how else can I keep you coming back to read? ; ) Anyway, like I said, it may be some time before a new chapter or it may be soon, I don't know. As always, try to ignore my bad grammar, lack of editing and remember to review. Much appreciated.**

_**Next Time on Return to Meyer: It's Edward Vs. Jacob. Can Ashley put a stop to things before they get out of hand? More still, Ashley has a proposition for the Cullen family. One that will change their lives forever. Will they take her up on it? **_

_**Next Time. **_


	20. Proposal

Disclaimer: Thank you Stephenie Meyer for your world and to Guy Andrews for giving me the ideas to play with it. This all stems from your creativity mixed with mine.

**A/N: Quick huh? I know. I'm surprised too. Maybe I'll finish the fic soon….well, emphasis on maybe. Anyway, as always, forgive my lack of editing and bad grammar and my use of cliff hangers. I'm getting quite good at picking when to stop now. ****Okay, hope you enjoy it and like always, review, review, review! **

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**Return to Meyer**

**20. Proposal**

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I watched the scene unfolding in front of me as though frozen in place and unable to stop the events I could imagine would follow. Yet, suddenly, a sense of urgency took hold and without thinking I threw myself forward.

I positioned myself between both guys, holding out a hand to push on each person's chest. Glancing back and forth between the two, filled with adrenaline, I put on my most disapproving and forceful face. "If either of you takes one more step, I will kick both your asses human or not. And you sure as hell know I can do it." I threatened loudly.

Edward paused, his eyes narrowed and burning with jealousy in an intensity I had only read about. Despite this, he seemed willing to listen to what I was saying.

Jacob eyed me angrily. Realising my seriousness, he gradually managed to regain control over his convulsions. "First, Jake, do I look weak and stupid? I'm not dead or dying. If I had a problem with what happened with Edward, I would take it up with him myself. I do not need you to defend my honour," In a more softer tone, "But I'm flattered all the same."

"Second," I looked at Edward, "I know I can't exactly do much considering your stronger, faster and well….have skin harder than rock but if you don't go back and get in that car right now I will make you pay." His eyes widened in amusement as he checked my sincerity. "Oh, I'm dead serious." I told him. "Now go," I removed my hand from his chest and pointed back at the Volvo. With a final scathing look at Jacob he turned around and left.

Looking back at Jacob, I could see a mix of fury and glee on his face. I had no clue what he was thinking about, and I didn't want to have one, but I never been happier to have chosen the guy who was willing to walk away. Not the idiot using his thoughts as a weapon.

"Go home Jacob," I said impatiently as I turned around to join Edward in the car. Disappointment fell over his face as he reached out to pull me back. I stepped out of reach and faced him. "No, go home. God Jake, I'm so pissed I can barely even look at you without wanting to slap you."

"Look, I'd say I'm sorry but I'm not." He told me. "I'm in love with you and I'm not going to deny it anymore."

I laughed bitterly. "Jacob, until a few minutes ago, you didn't know a thing about me. How can you possibly be in love with me?" I shook my head and groaned. "You know what, I'll call you later. I can't have this conversation. Not now." I said dismissively as I took off again for the car. The look of hurt that crossed his face bore deeply into my brain as I got into the car.

"Let's just go, please." I told Edward, a slight trace of pleading in my voice. With a sharp nod, he put his foot on the accelerator and we took off down the road.

Unable to resist the urge to look in the revision mirror, I wasn't surprised to be faced with the sight of an empty road.

The silence in the car was absolutely unbearable. Unlike usual, I didn't even have the background noise of the CD player to fall back on. In his anger at both me and Jacob, it sounded reasonable that he wasn't in the mood for whatever he'd been originally listening to. Still, I was tempted to reach out and fiddle with it but the sight of Edward's stoic expression kept my hands in my lap.

This morning had been so fun and happy. Then Jacob had had to go ahead and ruin it. Note to self, find a way to set him up with Bella when all of this is said and done.

Tree thicket after thicket passed by the tinted windows, a misty fog sitting drearily over the top of everything. As hard as I tried to focus on the scenes of nature outside, I couldn't avoid Edward's reflection facing me in the glass. The guilt, anger and sadness blended together, making the quiet even harder to take.

Eventually, I was unable to maintain it any longer.

"You're angry aren't you?" I asked in a small voice. His golden eyes remained fixed on the road, his mouth unmoving. I felt the overwhelming urge to cry. So much for female empowerment, I'm the biggest cry baby fiction has ever seen.

"I'm so sorry," I gushed. "It didn't mean _anything _at all." Still silence. "If it'll make you feel any better, I'll make sure I slap him next time I see him. I've seen it in the movies and I've always wanted to try it." My attempt at humour failed miserably and the small but brief smile I'd forced faded quickly. Leaning my head against the dashboard, I muttered my words into it. "I'm a horrible person. No wonder so many people want to kill me."

"I'm not mad at you," Edward said evenly. It was a cool tone. The one he used when trying to distance his human emotions. Usually when they would provoke a reaction he didn't want to occur.

"You should be," I told him. "I should have kneed him in the groin for the sexual harassment he put me through."

Edward looked at me, his brow raised. "Sexual harassment?" he echoed.

I nodded vehemently, hoping it was emphasise the point. Watching his face for a moment, I sighed. "Fine, maybe sexual harassment was going a bit too far but still, I should have done something violent." I commented in a huff.

"You would have broken something," He said, a trace of amusement in his voice.

"Hey!" I protested, "I can punch just fine thank you. Well, I do tend to lose the skin of my knuckles but I hit pretty hard. You should try me with boxing gloves."

He smiled, his mood evidently easing. "I don't doubt it…with human opponents." The smile faded.  
"Werewolves are another story entirely."

I wasn't going to argue with that and I doubted I had the guts to try and hit anyone with a baseball bat or a crowbar. I wasn't _that_ mad. But if Jacob persisted in these attempts to win my affection, I might just get madder.

"Can you forgive me?" I asked, hopefully.

"There's nothing to forgive."

I frowned, "Don't lie to me Edward. I know you well enough by now to know just how hurt you looked when you got out of that car. Sure, the outward stuff was anger but I could see it in your eyes."

He looked down sadly, his gaze softening. To my complete surprise, his response wasn't something defensive. It was something different entirely. "Wouldn't you be if our roles had been reversed?" he asked softly. I had never seen his eyes seem so young yet so old.

"Of course, but it meant nothing to me. I promise." I reassured him. He glanced at me from the corner of his eye and after several moments he appeared to believe me.

Even though I was eager to leave the subject and put the whole thing behind me, there was one thing I was extremely curious about even though I'd originally thought otherwise. Not it had begun to bother me. "Edward, one more thing. Jacob looked extremely smug as you were leaving. What was he thinking about?"

Edward laughed acrimoniously. "He seemed to have got the idea that you found him a better kisser than me. An idea that he wasn't keen on keeping to himself."

My jaw dropped in outrage. "You have got to be joking!" I cried angrily. "That pig headed, frustrating, over confident…" I had every right to continue verbally assaulting him but stopped as Edward cut in.

"It's alright." He said soothingly. "I don't take anything Jacob Black says into very careful consideration," a wicked smile crossed his face, "but under these circumstances, just in case you've forgotten, the moment we cross through that door, I will be more than happy to prove which of the two of us can provoke a more dramatic reaction."

I didn't know whether I should be annoyed that Edward felt he had something to prove or thrilled by the idea that he was going to kiss me. I settled for the later. "I'm not complaining about that scenario." I said with a dreamy smile.

When we pulled up at the Cullen house, I wasn't shocked to find Alice waiting for us in the drive. With her gift, she would already have a crystal clear idea of exactly what I was going to say and how her family would respond. If only I had such confidence in the outcome.

She shot us both a smile as Edward opened my car door (something I could never get use to) before giving Edward a very short but direct look. Perhaps she'd seen our discussion and was iffy on the details. Edward's response was the briefest and almost unobservable shake of the head.

It was then that the nerves kicked in. I've always hated talking officially in front of a group of people. When it's a school classroom and a total casual lesson, sure, I'll voice my opinion no problem. The minute it becomes official and I'm irrationally terrified. I've tried debating, calming breaths and positive self talk, even public speaking to get over it. I still break out into nervous shakes like I'm on vibrate whenever I have to do it.

Alice gave me a brief hug. "Relax." She said calmly. "You're going to do fine." Her words eased things the tiniest bit but the major fear still held in place.

Oh god. What if they said no? What if they didn't want to go be moral again, in the knowledge that someday they'd grow old and die. That they could get sick. That they'd have to learn to sleep and eat again. To BREATHE!

"I would give you my answer now, but I think it's best if I wait for Jasper to express his views and hear the details." Alice added. Great, thanks for the vote of confidence.

"They're waiting in the dining room." Edward told me, placing a hand on the small of my back and guiding me inside."

We trailed in, one after the other, into the beauty and elegance of their home. Slowly, we made our way towards the dining room. Just how I'd imagined the scene at the end of New Moon when the entire family had sat down at the table to decide on Bella's turning, they were all here to hear my proposition about something else entirely.

Carlisle sat at the head of the table while Jasper, Esme and Rosalie all had taken separate spots around the stunning antique that I realised was only used for this purpose. Family discussions. As I thought this through, Alice took her seat while Edward chose to stand beside Emmett, leaning against the wall. The body position was meant to appear casual but I could tell he was feeling a severe about of tension. Still, he'd hear their thoughts earlier and clear on the matter than I would.

I tossed up whether to sit or stand and ended up sliding out the chair beside Alice, knowing I would feel more comfortable knowing that they wouldn't be able to see my legs shaking violently. Human teachers and students may not notice it but vampire with amazing eye sight? For sure.

I cleared my throat as I glanced around the table awkwardly.

"Umm…I don't know what you've been told about what I'd like to talk to you about today or what you've worked out from the Voltori but I think it's best if I just start from the beginning and explain what my point from there." I began, my voice loud in the silence.

And just like with Jacob and at one point Edward, I began to explain how I'd come to be here, my world and the Twilight Saga. I will always be thankful for the level of patience and complete concentration they gave to me as I spoke about ideas that would seem completely insane to most people. Then again, they were vampires. They were good with weird.

When I got to the part about Edward and Alice, and James's trip through the door a couple of months ago, my eyes instinctively turned to Rosalie. Despite the fact that I knew she had never really liked me (big surprise), it was her that I knew would want what I was offering the most. Secretly, it was her that I was hoping I this could bring the most happiness to. It could give her the two things in the world she wanted the most.

Humanity and a baby.

"I know this is completely ridiculous and to ask you to believe it is asking…a lot but it true. It's all the complete truth." I explained.

It was here that someone besides myself finally spoke. "Had I not seen the events that took place in Volterra, I might have found the concept difficult to become accustomed to. Yet, here and now, I have come to grips with the idea that like us, there are many things beyond comprehension in this world." Carlisle voiced wisely and evenly. I was grateful for his support.

"But, I am curious as to what you are asking of us." He added.

Taking another deep breath and a look at Edward, I returned my eyes to the rest of the family. "A couple of months ago I left Forks and decline Edward's request to come with me permanently. I can't do that again. So," I paused, "this time he's coming with me and he'll live the rest of his life as a human being, only in my world." I watched as this idea registered with them. Rosalie's eyes filled with a hope I had never seen before.

"And, I'm opening up the idea to you. If you want to stay here and live your life the way you have been, that's fine. I won't hold anything against you. But, if you decide that you want to regain your humanity, the doors open for you. You can bring whatever you want with you. If money is the problem, you can exchange it for Australian dollars once you pass through or keep it and move to America." I had begun to speak extremely quickly. More than before, the idea had now taken on a new excitement in my mind. Then, the negative struck in.

They deserved to know.

"Although, there is one thing I need to warn you about. Like I said, you are all fictional characters in my world where the novels are a global phenomenon. There's a new movie coming out this year and two more to follow. The idea will take some getting used to and I know it'll be difficult but if you really want this, you might just have to take the good with the bad." The idea would take some SERIOUS getting used to. I mean, living in a world where you're supposedly not real, billboards in every major city, actors who play you in films based on your lives. It all seemed very surreal.

I stood up, placing my hands on the tabletop. "You don't have to decide right here and now but I do need to leave soon, unless you want the Volturi on your doorstep. So, I'll give you some time to think it over. I'm sorry if this puts a lot of pressure on you but I just wanted to make sure you had….the choice since none of you exactly chose this life." I moved away from the table. "Let me know," I told them casually, my eyes searching each face carefully for some sign of distress.

I walked out the door, making my way outside and in severe need of some fresh air. As the breeze hit me, I zipped up my jacket and pulled on the hood. The smell of fresh trees filled my nose and I closed my eyes, breathing it in wafts.

"You did well," Edward's voice came from behind me. I turned around on the spot. "Now all you can do is wait for them to come to a decision."

I gave him a worried look. "Any teasers on the outlook?"

His brow lowered as he searched through the thoughts of those inside. It was over in a couple of seconds. "Some are conflicted. Others are not. I'm sure you can guess which group Rosalie falls under."

I nodded. "I knew she'd be on the bandwagon the moment I gave her the option. What about the others?"

He gave me a smile, "You're about to find out. Let's go inside."

At this, the jittery feeling of butterflies returned.

Would they or wouldn't they? That was the question. And I was about to get my answer.

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**A/N: For those who are wondering, there are only a few more chapters to go. How many? I'm not sure but I'll say it's a small number. We're about to hit another climax, I just hope you enjoy it. **

**Remember to review and share your thoughts. Feedback makes the story world go round. **

_**The Final Countdown: In the last few chapters of Return to Meyer, Ashley's story will reach its final conclusion.**_

_**Decisions will be made on who stays in fictional Forks and who will take up Ashley's offer of becoming human. Will Edward and Ashley get their happily ever after?**_

_**Meanwhile, an old enemy return resulting in a final showdown you just can't miss. What will Ashley do when someone she cares about has their life hanging in the balance? **_

_**All in the final chapters. **_


	21. Acceptance

**Disclaimer: Thank you Stephenie Meyer for your world and to Guy Andrews for giving me the ideas to play with it. This all stems from your creativity mixed with mine.**

**A/N: I know, it's been a long time. I've been doing my yearly exams for year 12 and finishing up my English major work which has taken months. Every time I even thought about writing fan fiction I feel guilty. So anyway, here's a short chap to whet your appetite. Don't worry, more to come very soon. **

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**Return to Meyer**

**21. Acceptance**

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Seven pairs of eyes focused entirely on me. You'd think I would have gotten use to it by now? Not so much. Once again we were all sitting at the dining room table. I felt Edward reach out and touch my leg under the table, making me realise I'd been shaking it up and down – a bad habit of mine. Obviously I'd been shaking the table. With an apologetic smile I stopped.

"We'll put you out of your misery," Carlisle began, slightly easing my nerves. He looked to Rosalie and Emmett.

Rose smiled with warmth I had never seen from her before. It was shocking and made her appear more beautiful than ever. "Ashley, thank you for your offer. I can't tell you how much this means to me…to us," she glanced at Emmett. "As much as I love living with my family, with Emmett, there are some things that I've always wanted that I cannot have here." Her explanation was heartfelt and I could only begin to understand just how much this meant to her. To be able to have a family, to grow old with Emmett, it was what she'd always wanted. "Emmett and I will be coming back with you."

I nodded, slightly relieved that at least two of the family had accepted. If there was one thing I'd always feared, it was rejection. I've never done well with rejection.

Carlisle and Esme. "I too am very grateful for the gift we have been given in being able to spend so many years together as a family," Esme started, "But like Rosalie, there are several human experiences that I wish I had not had to sacrifice. I would like to be able to experience change, remain together as a family and live in one location for as long as we wish without fear of being noticed for the wrong reasons." She smiled weakly, her eyes kind. Carlisle reached out and took her hand, the palm down on the tabletop. "We will be making the change also."

Now I grinned. Perhaps Edward wouldn't have to face his family being separated at all. Only two more choices would make all the difference.

Edward sat neither relaxed nor rigid, giving me no hints as to what Alice or Jasper were thinking. To me, Alice was the wildcard. Jasper would go anywhere she would but as far as I was aware, Alice had never made any comments toward feeling any resentment towards her lack of humanity nor any relating to things she wished she could have. Ergo, I was coming up clueless as to her choice.

Alice watched me with wide eyes while Jasper gazed silently at her, taking note of the emotions of everyone in the room. I wondered how he was liking the rapidly changing ones I was giving off. Paranoia. Fear. Guilt. Happiness. Yet, he showed no signs that it was bothering or amusing him. Then again, Jasper was a closed book most of the time.

"I hate to rush you but you're killing me over here," I said, breaking the quiet as my leg began shaking up and down again. Alice pushed her chair backwards and walked towards me, her loping step as graceful as ever.

Oh god, she's coming to comfort me when she declines, I thought to myself rapidly.

Once she was less than a metre away from me, it was as if time froze. I watched her face was the slightest change and was faced with nothing. God this is torture. What the hell did I do? Say something!

Suddenly, after what felt like years, her face broke into a joyous smile. Before I could register the emotion she leaned forward and pulled me into a tight hug. "Of course we're coming!" she cried as though anything else was ridiculous. She drew back. "I'm not letting everyone else go, leaving me stuck here. Besides," she added as an afterthought, "Somebody needs to keep you and Edward out of trouble. Even in a vampire free world, you're bound to get into _something_."

Slowly as her words took hold, I found my lips return her smile. Relief hit me like a stack of bricks. I breathed out in a huge gust of air as I eyed the family again. "You couldn't have just said 'Guess what? We're all coming'?" I complained. "No….that would have been too easy and undramatic." Edward chuckled.

"Alice does like the theatrical," he reminded me with a smirk.

"You're all cruel," I snapped, half meaning it. The others simply laughed.

I leant back in the seat, thinking things through. The Cullens were coming back with me. They were going to live in Australia with billboards and film premiers and stacks upon stacks of novels all relating to them.

"You're going to have to change your last names." I gushed. "And get new passports and birth certificates, and what about money?" I rambled without waiting for an answer. "You're going to have to feed before you come and where are you going to live?" I was about to continue rushing through the overwhelming details that needed to be worked out when a firm hand covered my mouth. I looked up at an amused Edward.

"Relax. We have time for all that," He reassured me. I nodded as words would have come out muffled from behind his fingers. "But how about a run?"

Even his hand could not hide the broad smile the suggestion spread across my features.

xx xxxx xx

I held my hands together firmly around Edward's neck as we raced through the trees. Laughter filled the air but was soon lost in the noise of surrounding forests. Despite the fact that we were moving too quickly for me to see anything but blurred greenery, I took comfort in the fact that I knew Alice was only a few feet behind us.

I could feel the freedom Edward always felt when he ran but I could tell that every moment he was remaining highly aware of our surroundings. Victoria. Clearly he was worried she was going to jump out of the bushes and yell "I vant to suck your blooood!" Okay, not exactly. She's no Bela Lugosi. I didn't bother to share this particular joke with Edward. He would definitely not have found it funny but hey, humour was always better than being bloody terrified of getting my throat ripped out. I doubt Edward would have appreciated that imagery much either.

Still, I was almost positive that there was no way Victoria would turn up so close to the Cullen house after her last little "attempt" to seek revenge. She was only one vamp up against seven highly protective others. She couldn't be that stupid. Could she? I mean, then again, her previous plans weren't exactly high up on the intelligence scale. She really needed to read some Shakespeare. Seriously, Iago from Othello, now there's a guy who knows how to plot revenge.

"This is great," I said happily into Edward's ear. "I've missed this," He might have said something in reply but without super vampire hearing it was completely lost to me. One minute we were running – or in my case piggybacking – through the trees, the next Edward had come to a sudden stop. I grabbed his shoulders as my grip around his neck loosened, attempting to prevent falling on my butt. I failed.

"Ouch," I cried as I got to my feet, brushing the dirt off the back of my clothes. Alice had caught up and stopped right beside Edward. She looked confused.

"What is it?" Alice asked, worried. Edward remained frozen.

"She's here," he said finally, his voice icy. "She was waiting for us to leave the house."

"But I can't see anything." Alice claimed as she searched through the future for a possible outcome, coming up blank. Like the flick of a switch, the look in her eyes changed. "I see it,"

I wasn't an idiot. I didn't need clarification for who 'she' was. There was only one answer. Guess I'd been wrong about the smart thing. Victoria was stupid. So very, _very _stupid. One against two. They would tear her to pieces. Literally.

It took only three words from Edward for my optimistic outlook on the situation to change.

"She's not alone."

Several seconds later the number of people in the clearing rose from three to six.

Five vampires. One human.

I am so screwed.

* * *

**A/N: Let me just say, thank you, thank you, thank you! to my wonderful readers. You have been do dedicated over my long absences and at times TRAGIC grammar. Thanks for giving me a reason to continue the story, an excitement when I open my e-mail to read through reviews and the whole existence of this sequel. I will be finishing the fic very soon so stay tuned.**

_**Next time on Return to Meyer: With Alice and Edward outnumbered and faced with a vengeful vampire, the odds are looking bad. As Return to Meyer reaches its climax, and Ashley and Edward face their final battle will everyone come out alive?**_

_**Next Time.**_


	22. Battle

**Disclaimer: Thank you Stephenie Meyer for your world and to Guy Andrews for giving me the ideas to play with it. This all stems from your creativity mixed with mine.**

**A/N: We're coming to the end of something that I've worked on for…who knows how long. As always forgive me for the terrible things I put Ashley and Edward through, and my very bad grammar. Also, fair warning, I haven't had much experience with action scenes nor the time or patience to stay and go through it to make improvements in my draft. This chap is a little longer than the previous so sit back and enjoy the ride.**

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**Return to Meyer**

**22. Battle**

* * *

I glanced around the clearing, searching for some sort of method of escape. Looking back, it all seems a little stupid considering if I'd tried to run somebody would have probably grabbed me by my hair before you could shout 'stupid shiny Volvo owner' in a panicked voice.

Near Alice loomed two vampires I'd never seen nor read about before. One was an extremely built guy who seemed to be even taller than Emmett. His eyes flashed a bright crimson as they drank in the scene around him but widened in longing as they zeroed in on my bare neck. Uncomfortable, I reached up to cover it with my hair.

Beside him was a woman. Strawberry blonde, small, lithe and edgy. She appeared to buzz in place, the idea of remaining fixed in one spot impossible for her. The word go and she'd be tearing into any one of us without a second thought.

Victoria stood in the middle, her long, red hair blowing slightly in the breeze. At the sight of Edward her face expressed a hate I was surprised she could be bothered maintaining for so long. It must have been exhausting to put every part of her being into one emotion and directing that towards Edward.

Looking at her now, in some ways I recognised a deep sadness beneath all that anger and resentment. As much as I wanted to and had definite, justified reasons to, I couldn't hate her. She'd lost the most important person in the world to her in only a short period of time and in her eyes, Edward deserved to be punished for what he'd done. Over the years, I'd had many dreams involving the death of my family members, even Edward in recent times. I always seemed to wake up crying without having a clear idea of why. They were only dreams, they weren't reality. Yet, in those small moments of waking up, I felt a sense of loss and absolute pain. The idea of what it would feel like to lose those people that meant everything to me. It was…excruciating. Victoria on the other hand, she was experiencing the real deal. Even worse, she was a Meyer vampire and never slept. She would never dream about James. After being separated from Edward, I'd always, at the very least, had that.

I eyed Victoria sympathetically. No. I could never hate her. Not the way she hated me.

"Better make your move now Victoria, you won't have another chance like this," Edward said calmly, his voice breaking the silence amongst our mismatched group.

She smiled revealing her exceptionally white teeth. It was a movement that sent a shiver down my spine. "I'd be careful _Edward_," She spoke his name as though it were poison springing from her lips. "You don't seem to be in the best position to aggravate me." She warned, gesturing with her fingers to her companions.

Where was a damn werewolf when you needed one?

"We are not too far away from our home. This was not the most suitable choice of location at which to face me." Edward stop being stupid. Close to home or not, the others can't hear this far away and they don't have either Alice's or your gift to listen in to know there's a problem. And she knows it.

"Somehow I don't think that will be too much of a problem," Victoria replied, confidence oozing through every word.

Despite the tension between Edward and Victoria going on to my right, I was more focused on the blonde vampire beside Victoria. With every moment she was desperately trying to restrain herself. With his ability, I was sure Edward was aware of this but his attention appeared to be elsewhere.

"I'm sure you didn't come all this way to stand and talk things through with me," Edward shot out, keeping the conversation flowing.

"Remember this?" Victoria asked, ignoring his comment as she reached into her jacket and pulled out a yellow plastic lighter. "This is the lighter that you used to send James up in flames."

Edward showed no reaction to the reappearance of the weapon he'd used to save my life a few months ago. I did. I could still hear the sound of James's scream as the flames engulfed him and turned him to ash while I lay bleeding and broken on the floor of my Tae-kwon-do hall. I could still see the look on Edward's weak face as he'd lifted me into his arms and rushed me to hospital, both of us human beings for the first time. Vulnerable.

"After I kill your human, you're going to get it back." Victoria threatened as she twisted the lighter between her fingers. Finally she placed it back inside her pocket. "Now, I..." Victoria began but she was soon cut off as the blonde newborn broke. She leapt towards me in a blur of movement as Victoria cried out, "NO!"

Throwing herself in front of me, clearly already aware of what had been about to happen, Alice met the newborn head-on. Together they moved in and out as the blonde lunged for her but a few moments late each and every time. Jasper was a newborn expert and as a result, Alice was perfectly aware of how to fight one. The male vampire remained rooted in place, responding to Victoria's murderous glare. This was not going the way she'd planned.

Edward clearly wanted to help his sister but with two other vampires still waiting to attack, there was no way he was going to leave me open. I watched as Alice twisted and moved around the newborn, the fight barely intelligible to my weaker eyes.

Seeing this as an opening to set her diversion into place, Victoria nodded at the second vampire. A second later he rushed forward towards Edward, reaching for his neck. I resisted the urge to close my eyes. In a few moments, Edward would be so busy trying to fight off the other newborn that Victoria would have a clean path straight to me. I'd be dead and bleeding before Edward could even blink.

He moved out of the path of the vamp, throwing him out of the way but keeping his ground in front of me. Growls filled the air from multiple directions followed by a snarl as Edward effectively threw his newborn opponent into the trees. Victoria lunged forward, meeting him where he stood. Hearing the thought moments before she acted on it, he dodged and threw a fist into her side.

In amongst it all, I felt weak. The stupid human girl. Always needing to be protected. I'm no damsel! I can take care of myself but to try and fight creatures with ten times more strength and speed than I had would be suicide. I glanced down at a pointed rock on the ground below. I could….no, not happening. At least with James I'd been able to get in a few good hits before Edward had burnt him to a crisp but I wasn't about to slash my skin with something pointy. That wouldn't be a help at all. So there I was, the delicate little flower, waiting for her boyfriend to protect her, again. God the fictional world sucks.

Suddenly, I looked towards the trees. The male newborn had re-emerged from where Edward had thrown him but Edward so busy with Victoria, and Alice occupied who knows where with the other vamp, were unable to focus on him. He walked forward ready to grasp Edward's head between his large hands in the perfect position for Victoria to rip it from his shoulders like crushed marble.

The vampire rushed forward. "EDWARD!" I yelled, trying to get his attention but the words were quickly drowned out by a deafening snarl. From behind me, a large red-brown wolf launched itself from the trees, tackling the newborn to the ground and tearing into its torso with sharpened teeth.

Jacob.

I wanted to laugh with relief at the sight of his familiar form. He'd never gone home after I'd told him to, that stubborn idiot. My friend, the one I'd have to thank massively when we got through this. If we got through this. Jacob ripped into pale flesh as both supernatural creatures fought one another in a burst of teeth and claws. In the distance I heard an audible crack, the sound of breaking rock.

A few metres away, Edward remained circling Victoria. Despite the mix up in the setting and time line, their battle had not changed from the way Stephenie Meyer had written it. They moved and dodged, Victoria throwing herself into pointless moves of attack as Edward read them from her mind. Pushing against one another, they moved swerved around until Victoria threw Edward into the dirt. He dashed to his feet, reaching outward for her as she rushed instinctively up the closest tree. Eyeing her form as it clung to the branches, looking for another opening, Edward threw his body weight into the trunk. The world appeared to pause until a loud crack sounded through the air as the trunk snapped in half, the branches falling in a clump to the ground. Victoria jumped to the ground, fleeing the falling structure. Edward reached up and grabbed her, pulling her back towards him. I flinched as her form hit the ground below.

Breathing in, my brain registered the smell of something burning. It was a potent scent, flames tainted by something else. One I'd smelt once before. It wafted through the trees. I was willing to bet it was the sign that Alice had finished off her newborn. At least, I hoped so.

A loud, bloodcurdling screen filled the air as I watched Jacob dismember the final pieces of the other newborn, his head breaking off between Jacob's jaws with a loud crack. The body crumpled to the ground uselessly, a torso separated from all other limbs, the clothing a ripped mess. Satisfied with his work, Jacob looked over at me, his dark wolfy eyes visibly scanning me for any possible wounds. I gave him a grateful smile before looking back to Edward.

He now had the upper hand as both vampires moved around each other, darting in and out. I wished Jacob would go and help him but I knew he didn't care which of the two lived or died. There was no point throwing a fit over it. It was just the way things were. They were vampires, his enemies. One less vamp in the world was a good thing in his eyes. In my view, it was only a good thing if it was the _right_ vampire.

In the time that it took me to blink, Alice had appeared by Edward's side. Victoria eyed them both, panicked. She glanced toward the trees and then to the white, fragmented corpse on the ground. She was alone now. Two against one.

"Don't even consider it," Edward said, aware of what path her thoughts were tracing. There was no way he was letting her get away to plan out causing more trouble. This was it. Make it or break it.

Alice and Edward rushed forward in unison, hoisting her downwards. Alice gripped one arm and shoulder while Edward had wrapped his arms around her head, ready to twist it free. The group paused, extending the moment as though purposely attempting to heighten the drama. My breath caught in my throat, waiting for the crack as Victoria's head severed from her torso. I was aware of the horror of the act but somehow I found myself unable to look away.

Her eyes caught mine, watching me with an air of resolution as to her fate yet something else I couldn't recognise. Then it hit me. It was triumph. Before the others could stop her, she had reached into her pocket with her spare arm. In those following seconds, several things happened one after the other. Edward twisted Victoria's neck off her shoulders in a blurred motion, throwing it to the ground several metres away but not before her hand had flicked on the lighter and held it to the base of his ankle, setting it alight.

As both Cullen's released the headless torso, Victoria's body remained standing momentarily before it slowly toppled over. My focus was on Edward.

Without warning, just as had occurred with James, the flames began to spread as though it were using Edward's skin as an accelerant. I screamed as Jacob emitted a loud whine at the sight of my horrified face, unable to do much in his wolf form.

I struggled forward, watching as Alice attempted to smother the flames with her jacket but to no avail. Edward cried out, his face contorted in pain as the fire covered his skin. It had been only seconds and already I could see him dying.

No. This couldn't happen. It couldn't. It wasn't.

This was it. This was the moment I would watch Edward die.

Frozen in place. The human, always completely and utterly _helpless_.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, I know I'm cruel but don't worry, the next chap will be posted soon. I'm starting right after I post this one. Almost finished now, so very close. I hope you're enjoying the final chapters of Return to Meyer and are ready to see them reach their final conclusion. Remember to review, I love hearing your thoughts on the latest horrible ordeals I've put your favourite characters through. **

_**Next Time on Return to Meyer: With Victoria having exacted her final revenge, Edward's life is in danger and Ashley is the only one who can save him. Can she do what needs to be done even though it may end up hurting him more than imaginable? Will the decision be made in time?**_

_**Next Time.**_


	23. The End

**Disclaimer: Thank you Stephenie Meyer for your world and to Guy Andrews for giving me the ideas to play with it. This all stems from your creativity mixed with mine.**

**A/N: 2 to go. Ignore the grammar, forgive the drama, and enjoy.**

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**Return to Meyer**

**23. The End**

* * *

The world spun around me, flashes of colour, of light, of people wearing helpless expressions. Of pain.

1…2…

The seconds ticked by, each marking the end of Edward's life.

Some words, my name maybe? A familiar voice.

This couldn't really be _it_, could it? The end? It wasn't meant to happen this way. Edward near died. Never became the pile of ashes that had once resembled a vampire. What would the Cullens say when they found out that their son and brother had been killed because of me. All because of me.

3…4…

It was as though I was experiencing a ranging war inside my head. On one side of the battle lines were those who told me to give up, to feel my guilt and recognise the ultimate loss I was about to experience. The other side gave reason. It told me to move. To do something to stop it. But what?

Edward's eyes were locked completely with mine. He had accepted what was about to happen. Everyone was supposed to die sometime and apparently this was his.

But there's so much pain on his face.

Wait. No. I wasn't going to let this happen. I am not helpless. I refused to stand around like a brainless twit and watch the love of my life die. There was something that could be done and only I could do it.

Not allowing myself to think through the consequences of my actions as I knew that it would only deter me, wasting what little time Edward had left, I bent down and grabbed Edward's arms. The flames lapped at my skin as I began to drag him towards a thicket of trees. They were so hot and he was so heavy.

Alice watched on completely helpless, knowing that if she used her strength to help me, she would go up in smoke too. I couldn't have that. I tugged and tugged, sweat pouring down my face at the heat while my hands blistered at the contact.

5...6…7…

With all my might I willed the doorway between worlds into existence. It was the only way to save Edward and if it failed me now, I would never be able to find the will to return home. Not without him.

I could see it now, the park, the lake. It was so close. Just one more pull.

"Ashley, what are you doing?" Jacob's human voice called out, frightened and desperate. I ignored him.

My strength had little left to give and I had begun to lose feeling in my hands, I threw everything I had left into hoisting myself through the gateway. I pulled as hard as I could, throwing my body weight backwards through the trees, taking Edward with me.

8…9…10…

As I landed, I felt the side of my body connect with a rough patch of grass. Sunlight hit my face from the sky below. It would have been peaceful were it not for the smell of burning flesh in the air. Edward's screams filled my ears, his pain more evident than before. Tears ran down my cheeks while I quickly shed my jacket and smothered him with it, at last effectively putting out the flames.

"Hold on," I pushed out past my choked up throat. His cries subsided until they became moans of pain. The fire was out but Edward was badly burnt. He needed to get to a hospital now.

The tears fell faster now as I broke down into complete sobs. "I'm so sorry Edward," I said over and over as I stroked his hair. It was the only place that I felt comfortable touching without fear of hurting him. In most places his skin was bright read, in two very small sections on his torso – one on his chest, the other his stomach – the skin was white. Third degree burns. "You'll b-be a-al-right." I stuttered.

"Ashley," Alice called through the door. She stood watching from the clearing, hurt etched into every inch of her face. Jacob stood beside her, completely bewildered as to what was going on with the doorway.

Wiping the tears away, I stood straighter on my knees. "Alice, go get Carlisle. Now!" I yelled. There was no time for pleasantries. I didn't have a phone on me to contact an ambulance and Edward needed a doctor. Carlisle was the best and the only one who would understand what was going on.

"How's he human? It's not possible," Jacob's shock registered in his voice as he remained peering through the portal. "I mean, I heard what you said about this…" he gestured around the gateway, "thing but seeing it here…"

"It's a lot more real." I supplemented. He nodded.

"But I just can't –"

I cut him off, frustrated. "Jacob, in case you hadn't noticed, I'm kind of busy at the moment. I would love to sit here and answer your questions but now isn't a good time." I snapped in exasperation. He shut up.

"Would you just take care of the vampire c-corpses please?" My voice broke on the word corpses, the idea that I'd have to use the word in a sentence not in relation to a movie or novel was shocking. I turned back to Edward.

"Hold on," I told him softly, "Carlisle's coming, Edward." He looked up at me, his expression pained.

Why was it that whenever Edward crossed over between realities someone ended up in hospital?

Edward coughed, struggling to breathe as he tried to speak. I leant in closer, "What?" I asked.

"I am not as indestructible as I believed I was." He took several deep breaths that seemed to take a lot of effort. Finally he noticed my burnt hands. I had almost forgotten about them with the amount of adrenaline running through my body and my mind so completely focused on him. "You should have just let me burn," he gasped, the extremity of his pain evident in his every word.

I laughed, revealing my stress, "Oh this?" I held up my hands. "Nah, could be worse. Haven't you seen the trailer for Vampires Suck? There's no way I was going to let you die. Team Edward fans would have come after me with shovels." The joke fell flat under the circumstances.

Slowly his head lolled to the side and his eyes shut. I began to panic. No, no, no. He can't die. These burns can't be bad enough for him to die. I removed my hand and sat back, clenching my knees to my chest and rocking slightly back and forward.

"Ashley, Edward," Carlisle's voice broke through my bubble of misery as he quickly stepped through the barrier without so much as a pause. He stopped in place for a few seconds as he appeared on the other side. He was pale by human standards and looked a little ill. His expression was somewhat shocked, as though the feelings associated with humanity were hitting him with full force all at once. I just hoped that he wasn't going to have a problem.

"Carlisle? Are you alright?" I asked, concerned. He nodded before kneeling down beside Edward. I got up and stood back, allowing them both some space.

Suddenly I was hit with a severe wave of nausea. The ground seemed as though it were moving under me and my stomach muscles clenched. I fell backwards onto the grass, breathing rapidly. In fact, I was almost hyperventilating. I glanced down at my hands, covered in blisters, burns and blood, finally taking in the extent of the damage. The sight of Edward unmoving on the ground sent my mind reeling back to memories of lying broken on the floor after James had gotten through with me, images of vampire bodies being detached from their limbs and heads, Victoria's nails slashing through my neck and skin. I doubled over and threw up on the grass, tears still pouring down my face. Again I was experiencing the human reaction to such extreme exposure to carnage, fear and pain. My body shook beneath me as my muscles groaned. The heavy breathing continued while I tried to fight the feelings of anxiety I was experiencing in the build up from everything that had gone on over the last couple of months. I was home, outside the fictional world of vampires and werewolves, but I was still terrified.

Nails, bruises, cracking marble skin, screams of pain…fire.

"Ashley?" I heard Carlisle call as he realised my distress.

I barely heard him as my eyes rolled back, I fell backwards against the grass and my world went black.

xx xxxx xx

My eyes flickered open before squinting shut again as they took in the bright fluorescent light illuminating the room. Too bright. I was lying on a hospital bed, a tray of uneaten food sitting on the retractable platform in front of me. The television in the corner was softly broadcasting the ABC news. In a chair by the wall, my dad sat watching the TV and in another beside my bed, my mum was flipping casually through a lifestyle magazine.

I groaned. Another hospital. After this, I was making a pact to never need to visit a hospital ever again.

"You're up," Dad said as he got to his feet and walked towards the bed.

"Seems so," I replied, adjusting myself under the covers. I looked down at my hands. There was an IV in one arm while both my hands were padded with enough gauze and bandages they looked like marshmallows. "Nice," I commented, holding them up.

"You have second degree burns, the bandages are necessary." Mum told me, putting the magazine down. I had a headache but aside from that, my bandaged hands and some sore muscles, I was perfectly fine. A hell of a lot better than the mess I'd been last time I was admitted. James's work.

Wait. Bandaged hands, burns, fire. Edward.

I sat up straight, my back rigid with tension. "Mum, how's Edward? Is he okay? Is he here?" I questioned rapidly. Oh god, why had I passed out? You weak little idiot. Edward was hurt and I had to go and make it all about me. I hated to think about the situation I'd placed Carlisle in with two medically needy teenagers in a country that was, to him, foreign. Not to mention he'd just become human again for the first time in centuries. Yet, here I was, sitting in hospital. So clearly things had turned out okay.

"Edward's fine. He's got second degree burns over a substantial amount of his body and a very minor amount of third degree ones. The doctors say it'll take a little while for him to heal and there will be some scarring on small sections of skin on his chest and stomach. He won't be able to feel those anymore as the fire completely damaged the nerve cells. Otherwise, there shouldn't be any lasting damage. The burns looked a lot worse than they actually were."

I sighed in relief, leaning back against the pillows. Thank god. Just a little scarring. As much as I hated the idea that parts of Edward's body had been damaged, I would rather that than him dead or, back in fictional forks, a pile of ashes.

"Can I check out soon?" I asked, eager to get out of the damn hospital bed and check on Edward.

Dad nodded, "Apart from the burns on your hands which will take about three weeks to heal, you're physically fine."

I caught his specific use of physically, a worried expression on my face. "_Physically_ fine?" I didn't need to clarify what I meant by the question. They knew.

"From what Dr. Cullen told the doctors at the hospital about what happened before you passed out," I'd be interested to hear what story he'd made up as to our conditions. Me passed out, Edward burnt, Carlisle most likely exhausted and dehydrated. "The doctors believe that you're experiencing post traumatic stress disorder after the physical assault you experienced. They think that perhaps seeing Edward wounded reminded you of what happened and gave you a severe panic attack." Mum explained.

"Okay," I said, stunned as I tried to absorb the information. "What does that mean for the future?" No wonder I'd been an emotional wreck ever since I'd returned from Forks the first time. Bad dreams, bad grades, sadness and anxiety, there was definitely something wrong.

"They suggested that perhaps you start seeing someone,"

I bolted up again, "What?" I cried loudly.

"Not all the time, just every so often. Just so you can talk through the problems you've been having and sort them out," Mum assured me.

I laughed bitterly, "Sure, what am I going to tell them? 'Oh yeah, I was terrorised by fictional vampiric characters who beat me up and set my boyfriend on fire.' That'll go over well. I won't just have PTSD, I'll also be clinically insane!"

"Nobody's forcing you but you should think about it. It's not about recounting events. It's about dealing with the emotions behind them. We just want the best for you,"

I looked at them both, feeling the corners of my eyes begin to prickle with tears of anger. At last, I calmed down. "I know," I said softly. I sighed. "Can I have some space for a moment please?" I asked, feeling the need to have the room to myself for just a little while.

Dad nodded as the both got to their feet, mum switching off the TV as she left. "Sure. We'll go sort out the papers so you can come home with us tomorrow."

I turned to on my side and began to stare at the wall, the sound of the IV drip the only thing audible in the room. Rubbing my face into the pillow, I cleared it of any loose tears. It was here that I began to sort out my priorities and finally decided that it was time I stopped acting like a child. There would be no more tears. It was time I started to make the hard choices and took responsibility for my future.

xx xxxx xx

I walked into the burns unit of the hospital, the bottom of my jeans dragging slowly on the linoleum. Edward's room was long and consisted of three beds, one of which was empty, the other obscured by a curtain. Edward was connected to several wires including an IV. He had gauze over a substantial amount of his body but other sections appeared reasonably okay. His eyes were shut, his chest rising and falling softly.

I'd been released from hospital a few days ago but for some reason I'd found it hard to visit him, fearing what I'd find if I did. The reality wasn't great but it was so much better than the nightmare I'd kept imagining in my mind. Carlisle, sitting by the bed, looked up as I approached. He gave me a weak smile. "I should go and get something to drink. I am still becoming accustomed to my body's reawakened need for water." He told me as he left us alone. I reached out, touching my bandaged hand to the gauze covering Edward's fingers. In our white bandages, we matched.

"Hi Edward," I told him softly, aware that he was sleeping but unsure whether he could hear me. "Sorry, it's taken so long for me to get here. I'm not such a great girlfriend, huh?" I swallowed deeply before going on. "Mum and Dad want me to see a psychologist. Apparently I've got PTSD." It felt odd to say out loud but somehow I took comfort from telling him. He was the only one who could understand it all. Understand me.

"I'm looking at universities," I said, changing the topic. "I'm thinking about a bachelor of arts but I'm not sure what majors I want to do just yet. Hopefully I can pull myself together soon to get good enough marks in the HSC. Maybe you could come too and try doing something new. Get a degree you could actually use in the future." I suggested.

"That might be a nice change," I looked up from our hands into his now open green eyes and smiled. He looked exhausted and confused but somewhat reassured by my presence. "You're awake." I commented. "How are you feeling?"

He took a deep breath, "Carlisle tells me that I am on a large amount of pain medication but otherwise, I have been better." He told me truthfully.

My brows lowered, "I'm so sorry you have to go through all this."

Edward shook his head, a sudden burst of passion appearing in his eyes. "Don't ever apologize." He told me. "You saved my life. Without you, I wouldn't be here. What are a few scars compared to what could have been?" Ever the wise one, I couldn't deny his logic. Still, who could fight with anyone in his condition?

"So we're going to university are we?" He queried with a weak smile. I felt slightly heartened by his apparent liking for the idea.

I nodded then shrugged, "Why not? It's where I always planned my life ending up."

He sighed, his heart monitor skipping a beat and making a buzzing noise. I got up and walked towards his pain medication monitor, upping the dose a little in response the expressions of pain that seemed to flash across his face every few seconds.

"You get some more sleep, I know it must be weird after not needing it for almost a century." He gazed up at me groggily as the medication began to kick in.

"Yes, it is," He said, his emotions unreadable. His unburnt hand reached out to grasp my fingers, interlocking them together.

"I'll be right here," I told him. For the first time in our entire relationship, it was I that was looking after him. He needed me, not the other way around. For once, we were equals and despite the unpleasant circumstances, it felt right.

"Sleep," I whispered as I leant in and pressed my lips ever so lightly to his forehead.

"I love you," He said quietly.

"Love you too," I replied. It felt like forever since I had last used the words.

And there in the quiet of the hospital room, I sat and waited, watching over him as my human boyfriend fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.

xx xxxx xx

"So this is it, is it?" Jacob asked sadly.

We were standing in his old, red garage. In amongst the car parts, tools and scrap metal, I felt extremely out of place. Faded sunshine filed in through the open doors, revealing the familiar area that made up La Push. Jacob's lunch, a sandwich lay abandoned on the workbench.

Having needed to come back to Forks to allow the rest of the Cullens – their passports, documentation and money now all perfectly in order for their new life – to pass through from one world to the next, I'd taken advantage of my being there to say goodbye to my werewolf friend. There was about three metres distance between us, our body language mirrors of one another with crossed arms and straight backs. I partly expected a clump of tumbleweed to blow on through just to give it the full Mexican standoff look.

The side of my mouth pulled up in a sort of half smile as I lightly shook my head. "As far as the Volturi's concerned, yes, but I'm past playing by anyone else's rules." He raised an eyebrow at this comment as he shifted his weight onto his left leg, emphasising the apathy displayed in his stance. Despite this, I knew he was just the opposite.

"I'll visit," I promised truthfully. "It won't be all the time, but I will. We'll walk on the beach, or work in the garage and stuff." I suggested.

He snorted, loudly. "Ash, you hate the beach and you can't even use a wrench, let alone work on a car."

I laughed, "Okay, I guess you're right. Fine. I'll eat pizza and watch while you work on a car." We paused, the absence of conversation filling the room and bringing a sense of sadness with it.

"You gonna miss me?" He asked part playfully. I eyed him carefully, tightening my arms across my chest.

"I always miss you, Jake." As though having broken through the tension completely with these words, we both unfolded our arms and eagerly crossed the distance between us. I locked my arms around his neck while he wound his own around my waist. The warmth of his skin seeped in through my t-shirt and jeans as his body touched mine. Yes, I would miss him. He was stubborn, frustrating, pushy and arrogant but god, I loved him so damn much. Like family.

Lifting his head up from my shoulder, he roughly kissed my hair and drew back, giving me a final once over as though trying to burn me into his memory to look back on as many times as he needed to before he saw me again. "You're like the sun Jacob," I told him out of the blue.

He looked confused. "Why do you say that?"

Shrugging, I smiled. "I just thought that somebody should tell you. It was something you were supposed to hear."

"If you say so,"

There was one more thing, "And don't ever worry about losing yourself to your werewolf side. I know you think about it sometimes. I'll never happen." I reassured him without a doubt. These were things Bella should have said to him but because of me, she'd never gotten to. He deserved to hear them. They were important.

"You're an odd girl Ashley Gill," He commented with a grin.

"So I've been told," I replied with a chuckle.

Unable to resist the temptation, I headed over to his workbench and picked up the top slice of bread off his sandwich. In a few seconds flat I had squished it entirely into my mouth, enlarging my cheeks like a chipmunk's. "Something to remember me by,"

As if I could see him remembering back to the day we'd first met with our bread eating competition in Charlie's kitchen, his eyes lowered. "Don't be a stranger." he said, his voice full of hope as he turned back to his car parts.

It was with one final look at the garage, taking in the sights, smells, people and memories of fictional Forks I had at one point never known existed, that I reopened the door back home and said one last goodbye to world that had once been Stephenie Meyer's Twilight.

Not the end, but a new beginning.

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**A/N: As if I would really kill Edward off. That would be cruel and ridiculous but I thought it about time that their roles reversed a little. Edward cannot be the overpowering superhero all the time. A relationship is about balance and now Ashley has the chance to look after him the way he has her. Now, let me just say that the next chapter published will be the very last time you will read about Ashley. I'll get started on it right now and it should be posted very soon. Remember to review. **

_**Next Time on Return to Meyer: At last we reach the end of Ashley's story. Resolutions are made, life is continued, dreams on track and healing from past horrors well underway. **_

_**The final chapter. Next Time.**_


	24. Epilogue: Healing

**Disclaimer: Thank you Stephenie Meyer for your world and to Guy Andrews for giving me the concept. It seems so long ago that this idea came into creation. Everything here stems from your creative genius's mingled with my amateur ideas. I can never thank you enough. **

**A/N: Here we are at the end of the road, the final chapter of Return to Meyer and the end of Ashley's rather long and stressful story. It's time she got her happy ending don't you think? I've spent a great deal of time writing about these characters and in a way I'm sad to say that the story ends here but it must. It's had its run and I am so very happy to see that so many people had read and enjoyed it. So, for one final time, sit back and enjoy Return to Meyer. **

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**Return to Meyer**

**Epilogue: Healing**

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_**6 months later**_

"Ashley, tell me, why do you think you're here?"

I leant backwards, crossing one leg over the other as I thought through my answer to the posed question. After having been through four sessions before with other psychologists previously over the last six months, I was slowly becoming accustomed to the direct yet indirect lines of questioning and accepting expressing my emotions to complete strangers.

"Because I need to be,"

Dr. Wong casually tapped the end of his pen against the file open on the coffee table in front of him as he eyed me through a heavy set of green framed glasses that made his eyes appear bigger than they actually were. From what I could tell, he seemed like a nice man but then again, this was the first time I'd met him and appearances could always be deceiving.

His expression suggested that he wanted better clarification. "I had a few serious things happen to me a couple of months back, which I'm sure you already know about," I looked down at the open folder, "and I need to move past them."

Dr. Wong smiled, nodding his head in agreement. "One of the issues you're referring to is the physical assault you experienced from an intruder who broke into your house?" He pressed, his tone kind. It was enough to get me to discuss the event but not so much that it upset me. Still, I had learned not to let mentioning of these experiences bother me anymore. They were in past.

"Yes." I answered bluntly.

"That must have been very frightening for you,"

I shrugged lightly. "Sure, it wasn't a pleasant moment in my life but I'm moving past it," It was the truth. A few months ago, the attack by James, that the police knew to be that of a random burglary gone wrong, was slowly becoming just a dim memory. Apparently the "offender" had simply disappeared never to be heard from again.

"You fought back?" He already knew this but the question enabled him to fish around for my response.

"Yeah, I do tae-kwon-do so I got in a few kicks. He was just stronger than I was." Seeing me noticeably begin to shut down in this line of query, he decided to close it for now.

He pulled off his glasses and began twirling them between his fingers. "You seem to be a lot more comfortable discussing what happened since your first session with Dr. Richards." I didn't respond to this. Wong smiled kindly. "It's a very good thing, Ashley."

Another shrug, "I guess so. I've been talking about it more now." At this Wong flipped over a page in his notes and briefly scanned a line.

"With your parents? Your boyfriend?"

"Occasionally with my parents, more with Edward," I admitted. I hadn't originally wanted to talk much about Edward with the first doctor I'd seen, having been unsure what to say that would avoid drawing attention to anything odd about Edward and his family's sudden appearance in Sydney. Carlisle had reassured me that as long as the words 'Vampire' or 'Fictional world' didn't enter the conversation, and I refrained from slipping into old habits such as calling them by their fictional last name, Cullen rather than the newly adopted one, Curington, everything would be perfectly fine. The name change had been necessary to draw even just a little unwanted attention from the family's similarities with the characters so very popular in film and novels at the present time. Even so, I'd lost track of the number of people who'd done a double take after being introduced to Edward. He was use to it by now.

"How is your relationship with Edward?"

I smiled instinctively at the sound of his name. "Good. We're living in an on campus apartment together." At first I'd been intending to simply board in college housing while studying in Canberra but Edward had suggested that since we were both going to be there and had little to hide after everything that happened previously, why not find somewhere together. Living with Edward was amusing and always changing. Every day he discovers something new he'd forgotten about being human whether it was the big things, differences in vision and smell, and the sound of a permanent heartbeat or the little things like the taste of chocolate.

"You're both studying at ANU?" Wong asked, halting my reminiscing.

"I'm doing a Bachelor of Arts. Edward's doing a…medical degree." I paused. I'd almost slipped up and said _another_. Despite the fact that he'd done several others previously, Edward had said that he was enjoying this one so much more. It all stemmed from the idea that once he had it, he would actually be able to progress to putting the skills into action. I had faith that he would be wonderful doctor when the time came, knowing so much theory from his past studies. Now that the whole blood resistance thing was no longer an issue, there was nothing stopping him from doing whatever he wanted to do.

"I believe that Edward suffered some bad burns a few months ago as a result of the woman that was stalking you, is that right?" Ah yes, the stalker story. Unable to use the actual excuse as to why I'd been followed by a red haired woman at school and Edward had ended up in hospital with we'd created the story of a stalker. This way, the police, hospital staff and my psychologists were satisfied. In the minds of everyone apart from the Cullens, myself and my parents, I'd been stalked by a crazed woman. I'd skipped school for the day and gone to the park with Edward where we'd decided to build a little bonfire for fun. My stalker had decided to show and ended up pushing Edward into the fire where he and his clothes had caught on fire. Like my supposed house intruder, the woman had disappeared and not been seen since. Let's just say that the police were more than a little bewildered. They probably thought I was some sort of crazy person magnet. Maybe I am.

Unconsciously, my fingers reached up and between fiddling with the heart crystal at my throat before slowly resting on the scars on my neck from Victoria's nails. "That's right." Before he could ask for more details, I cut him off. "He's perfectly fine now. It took him quite a few weeks to heal but unless you directly asked him to take off his shirt and show you the burn scars, you probably wouldn't even know the difference." It had been hard to take at first, the image of Edward bandaged and in pain. He'd had to visit doctors regularly for about two months after the "accident" but he'd long since healed, and I was glad for it. In the following months after his recovery, he'd been self conscious about showing me the third degree burn scars on his chest and stomach, knowing that they would probably give me feelings of guilt. Finally, I'd convinced him to show me. The skin that had once been white was now permanently red. The small section on his chest slightly resembled a crescent moon while that of his lower stomach an odd squiggle. He could no longer feel the skin there, the nerves damaged by the fire but he claimed that they didn't bother him very much anymore. To sum up his opinion, perfection is overrated. Not that he'd used those exact words.

"I'm glad," Dr. Wong commented. "What about Edward's family? How are you getting along with them after everything that's happened?"

Ah, this was a topic I could spend forever gushing about. "Great. I love them a lot. Emmett, Edward's brother, and his wife Rose are having a baby. It's due in just over three months. They're really excited because they've wanted a baby for a while now." Sure, there was the mood swings and morning sickness but even still, Rosalie was taking every moment of her pregnancy as a blessing. Alice had been aware it would be a girl for months – she still retained her psychic gifts, having had them before her vampirism – and has already bought about two wardrobes worth of clothes and stuffed animals.

"Alice and Jasper are living in Sydney and Alice is doing some course in business and design. She's hoping to start up her own event planning place." I was sure she'd do extremely well. With her tendency towards the detailed and over the top, how could she not? She'd thrown Edward a massive eighteenth birthday party a little while back, a day none of them had ever expected to come. Still, Alice's constant wedding hits were getting on my nerves. Edward and I are still young. We have a whole future ahead of us and plenty of time for that.

"His dad, Carlisle, is back to work as a doctor," Carlisle had taken up a position at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. They were lucky to have him. Only problem was, the concept of requiring breaks between shifts for food and sleep was something that required getting use to. Still, he appeared relieved that he would no longer have to worry about moving unless it was what he wanted or being stuck at a specific age – something people would notice over time. He still stopped a couple of the nurses' hearts every time he went by, a credit to his natural good looks even without the vampiric influence. "And Esme is running her own antique place."

"You speak very warmly of the Curington family. Edward must be glad that you feel that way," Wong surmised. "Now how about your family, your parents and sister, how are things with them?"

"Going well actually, back to the way they use to be. Before…everything. I'm going home to see them next weekend." I explained, happily.

He nodded, pleased. We watched each other in silence for a few moments, his eyes carefully evaluating my emotional state. For a moment I thought that perhaps he'd used up all his major questions but then again, we'd barely scraped the surface of all the major issues in my life. Not that I was that eager to start lying about events again.

As much as I'd protested when the idea of therapy had been suggested to me back in hospital or even before returning to Forks, when I'd attempted going to see the school councillor, it hadn't turned out as bad as I'd thought. In some ways, it was what I'd needed. Someone objective and willing to listen to what I had to say. And it was working.

Dr. Wong leant forward, laying his elbow on his knee as he placed his chin in his hand. "Ashley," My eyes widened. "If I was to ask you, right here and now, how you're feeling about your life in general, what would you say?"

It was the ultimate question in the 'are you depressed or anxious?' questionnaire. I leant forward, mimicking his body position with a genuine smile. "I'd say that I'm happy. Things are back to normal. And I'm really…happy."

He took this answer at face value and with a fatherly look of pride, he sat back again. ""That's good to hear." He placed his glasses back on his nose before flipping the folder in front of him closed with a rustle of papers.

"It's a good start Ashley." He told me. "We'll go into a lot more depth next week,"

At this I uncrossed my legs and slid out of the chair, sliding my handbag onto my shoulder as I went. I walked around the table about to head for the door when he called out to me. "Oh, Ashley, one of the daughters of a patient of mine left this in here earlier. Would you mind taking it out to the reception desk in case they come to retrieve it?" I spun around and reached out to take the reasonably sized novel from him.

Without a second thought I opened the door and stepped out into the corridor, walking towards the desk. Edward sat in the waiting area, skimming through a medical journal. He looked up as he saw me come out. His bronze hair shone in the sunshine from the open window, his skin no longer deathly pale. He was still better looking than most of the guys around but unlike before, he looked alive.

The lady behind the counter, her name tag identifying her as Sally, glanced up from her paperwork. "All finished?" She asked politely.

"Dr. Wong wanted me to leave this with you," I held up the novel and placed in on the counter. The black cover with its silver writing and image depicting a pair of hands holding an apple, blazed into my mind. It had been so long since I'd last seen the _Twilight_ Cover or even bothered to take a good look at it. So much had changed about me since the day I'd found myself questioning my sanity as a seventeen year old Bella Swan entered my bedroom. I still remembered the fact she'd told me to prove she wasn't a figment of my imagination: Odontophobia is the fear of teeth.

Now, here I was. Older and a lot wiser.

"Are you ready to leave?" Edward asked, placing a hand on the small of my back reassuringly. I took a deep breath before putting on a bright smile. "Yes, yes I am." Quickly, I removed my fingers, letting them fall back to my side. At one point, I remember not even being able to think about my once favourite novel. Having it right here in front of me again, I realised I had moved on. I'd let go. Finally.

Here and now, this would be the last time I thought about Twilight.

Sally smiled at me as she took the book and placed in behind the counter. "Let's go," I said to Edward, looking up into his gorgeous eyes. As though understanding my train of thought, he kissed me softly as he laced our fingers together.

With this, I placed the world of fictional forks behind me, eager to focus on enjoying and progressing towards my future. One in which there were so many possibilities, their outcome determined by only one author.

Me.

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**A/N: Once again, I thank you for reading my at times extremely frustrating, badly written and delayed writing, hoping that you enjoyed it. I am somewhat saddened to be saying goodbye to Ashley and her adventures but am reassured in knowing that she has finally gotten her happily ever after. I hope you are too. **

**As a final favour to me, just as I asked with Living in Meyer, I ask you to leave me a review. Even if you've never reviewed the story before or you've reviewed every chapter, it doesn't matter. Let me know what you thought of the fic as a whole and your opinion on the end to Ashley and Edward's story. **

**Looking forward to hearing from you. **

**-Bookworm**


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